The Opposition should combine with the Government in a joint effort to reform Ireland's cancer services, the Minister for Health and Children, Mary Harney said in the Dáil last night.
Rejecting calls for her resignation, the Minister called on the leaders of the Opposition to "consider a bipartisan approach on cancer, just cancer. I think our citizens deserve that we do just that".
The issue will be put to a vote tonight, following the Government Chief Whip, Tom Kitt's warning to Fianna Fáil TDs that they must vote for Ms Harney or face expulsion.
She will receive backing from senior Cabinet colleagues, including Taoiseach Bertie Ahern; the Minister for Finance, Brian Cowen, and Green Party leader John Gormley.
Last night, in the debate on the no-confidence motion, she said she wanted "to be able to look any patient in the eye" and tell them that Ireland will have a system that will guarantee them the best chance of survival. She promised that in the future no-one would be treated like the women who were misdiagnosed at the Midland Regional Hospital in Portlaoise.
Implicitly criticising the Health Service Executive (HSE), the Minister said she had "spent all Wednesday evening" in search of information about the Portlaoise cancer cases but failed to get it.
Last night the board of the HSE met in special session to discuss who should undertake an urgent review of how it handled the whole breast cancer controversy in Portlaoise. It said afterwards it would engage an "external independent person" to conduct the review.
A sub-committee of the HSE board has been set up to finalise terms of reference for the review and to engage the external person to conduct it. "The board will then determine what action is required arising from the review," the HSE said.
Also last night 21 women whose cancer care at Portlaoise still required surgical review, were seen at a special clinic in the town. A small number remaining to have their cases reviewed will be seen at a Dublin clinic in the coming days, the HSE said.
Earlier, the newly appointed head of cancer control in the State, Prof Tom Keane, admitted confidence in cancer services in the Republic had been dented as a result of the controversy.
He said he would be working to restore confidence in the services and would be implementing the Government's plan for eight centres of excellence for the provision of cancer care.
Sometimes emotional during a 30-minute speech in the Dáil, Minister Harney appealed directly to Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny to form a cross-party consensus to tackle cancer care. "I want to suggest that we have the kind of approach that we had on Northern Ireland in one area of health care - cancer. I am not looking for carte blanche," she said.
Saying that it was the "first time that I have heard raw emotion" from the Minister, Fine Gael's health spokesman, Dr James Reilly, said she was "disengaged, and had no appetite for taking responsibility"
Earlier in the Dáil, the Opposition seized on Taoiseach Bertie Ahern's suggestion that some Fine Gael and Labour TDs would vote for Minister Harney "if there was a free vote". Urging Mr Ahern to allow one, Labour leader Eamon Gilmore said Fianna Fáil TDs would not support Ms Harney if they were given the choice.
Fianna Fáil TD Ned O'Keeffe refused to reveal his voting intentions last night, though his request to speak in the debate has been rejected by the Government. Mr O'Keeffe said he had wanted to outline "my reasons for believing that the HSE is not working".
