The fact that health boards are reported to have spent €11 million on taxi fares last year was a matter for them to explain, the Minister for Health, Mr Martin, said yesterday.
However, he urged caution when interpreting the figures and said people should look carefully at what the money was spent on before accusing anyone of wasting it.
Taxis were used by health boards for ferrying X-rays from one hospital to another and for transporting blood samples and patients, he said.
"If you are moving X-rays from one hospital to another for assessment, you're not going to wait for the No 6 bus to put it on. You want to make certain it gets to the right consultant.
"If it got lost on the No 6 bus, there would be another inquiry," Mr Martin said.
Yesterday the Daily Mirror reported that health boards spent between €229,000 and €2.8 million on taxi fares, and clocked up a total taxi bill of €11 million.
The biggest-spending health boards were in the north-west and the north-east, while the smallest bill was run up by in the midlands. A number of the boards blamed a lack of public transport for the high use of taxis.
Fine Gael's health spokeswoman, Ms Olivia Mitchell, said the fares reflected the total absence of a working public transport system.