Minister for Health Mary Harney said she "strongly welcomed" the publication of the Hiqa report into care at Midwestern Regional Hospital Ennis.
She described it it was very important and said it underlined “the need for significant change in the way acute hospital services are organised in order to ensure a safe and high quality service for patients”.
Ms Harney said the acute hospital reconfiguration plans currently being implemented by the HSE in the midwest region were “very much in line with the analysis and recommendations developed independently in this report.”
Ms Harney said she noted the report's conclusion "that simply putting more resources into Ennis will not make the hospital safer".
“I have asked the HSE to give careful consideration to the report’s conclusions and recommendations, not only in relation to Ennis, but to the delivery of acute hospital services generally," she said.
She paid tribute to the Hiqa team chaired by Diane Whittingham for its work in preparing the report.
The Irish Nurses' Organisation said the report's findings "both in terms of their regional and national implications", fully endorsed its long-standing approach that "standards of patient care, must always be the determining priority and that the reconfiguration of acute services can only take place when the receiving hospital is adequately staffed, equipped and resourced".
It said it would now look for an early meeting with the HSE in the midwest region "to discuss how all of the report’s very important recommendations are implemented in the manner envisaged and in the shortest possible time frame".
Labour Party health spokeswoman Jan O’Sullivan said one of the “most disappointing things is that the report makes no findings in regard to the standard of care received by Ann Moriarity and Edel Kelly whose cases prompted this inquiry”.
She said the families of the two women were “no nearer to knowing how their breast cancer was missed. Again families have been left in the dark, questions remain unanswered and nobody has been found to be responsible for premature deaths of two patients”.
Fine Gael’ Pat Breen also said he was “very disappointed” that no one has been held to account and that the families have received no answers.
He said: “Instead what we have is a report which endorses the policy and objectives of both the HSE and the Minister for Health and Children Mary Harney namely the implementation of the Teamwork Report and the further downgrading of services at Ennis General Hospital.
”It is a sad day for the dedicated staff at Ennis General Hospital and the people of County Clare.”