The Labour Party has accused the Government of conning the public over its health strategy.
In a strong attack on what she called the Government's "mismanagement" of the health services, Labour Party health spokeswoman Ms Liz McManus said the Government was "running away from this debate" and that the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste were "in denial".
Ms McManus claims the government had perpetrated a "con trick" when it published the health strategy. "Many in the health services felt there was a new dawn at long last for themselves and their patients," she said.
Fianna Fáil's pre-election promise to eliminate hospital waiting lists by 2004 was "utter fantasy", Ms McManus said.
Ms McManus said her party believed the Government was trying to get through the four weeks to the Dáil's summer recess without making public three reports on the health service commissioned last year - the Brennan report, the Prospectus report and the Hanley report.
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It was deliberately attempting to keep the reports away from public scrutiny and ministers were "scuttling along like rats under a hedge" to get to the summer recess without publishing them, Ms McManus said.
No progress would be made on reforming the health services until these three reports were published and debated, she said.
"We have a situation where ministers are dithering, patients are dying and the big issues are not being debated in a political forum".