Tánaiste's backing for Reilly was 'last straw' for Shortall

THE FAILURE of senior Labour Ministers to back Róisín Shortall in her dispute with Minister for Health James Reilly was the deciding factor in her decision to resign as Minister of State, according to supporters.

The last straw for Ms Shortall came on Monday night when Labour leader Eamon Gilmore publicly backed Dr Reilly over his party colleague in a row about primary care centres, according to sources close to the former junior minister.

Her resignation has plunged Labour into its biggest political crisis since it entered Government in February 2011.

Much of the focus will turn on Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore and how he responds to her allegation that he refused to back her and left her isolated in her ongoing dispute with Dr Reilly.

The deterioration of her relationship with the Labour leader was illustrated by her decision to inform him by email of her decision to stand down, several hours after she had tendered her resignation to Taoiseach Enda Kenny. Mr Gilmore is in New York on a trade mission.

In separate statements last night both Mr Gilmore and and Taoiseach said they were disappointed with the resignation.

There were divergent views among Labour TDs about the impact of the decision.

One Minister was critical of her “absolutist” stance and said the resignation would have no long-term consequences for the party. But another senior party figure said TDs were shocked and confused, and suggested Ms Shortall was “shoved” out. “Here was a good woman, a bit of a lone wolf, someone with values. She was prepared to take a stand and she didn’t get the support she deserved.”

In her resignation statement as minister of state to Dr Reilly, Ms Shortall said she could no longer fulfil the role because of a “lack of support for the reforms in the programme for government and the values that underpin it”.

She has also resigned the whip of the parliamentary Labour Party and will join three other former members on the back benches when the Dáil sits again today.

Ms Shortall said her decision had come after repeated and lengthy efforts to reach agreement on the implementation of the programme for government.

“The public have a right to expect that decisions on health infrastructure and staffing will be made in the public interest based on health need and not driven by other concerns,” she added.

Her resignation comes one week after The Irish Times revealed that Dr Reilly had added 15 locations, including two in his own constituency, to a priority list of primary care centres, despite her objections.

Dr Reilly defended his decision by saying it was necessary to ensure GP buy-in for the new centres, but he has so far failed to explain the basis on which he added 15 locations to the original list.

The two politicians tried to resolve their differences at a meeting in Leinster House on Tuesday. Describing this meeting as “tense and difficult”, her spokeswoman said Ms Shortall had again pressed Dr Reilly to explain the criteria he used in selecting the additional locations, but this had not been forthcoming.

Over the past year the pair have clashed on a range of policy issues such as GP fees for vaccinations, the extension of free GP care, proposals to curb alcohol marketing, primary care centres and primary care staffing.

Ms Shortall learned of the departure of HSE boss Cathal Magee only by reading it in The Irish Times, and was unable to spend €20 million that had supposedly been ring-fenced for primary care staffing.

Dr Reilly was facing a separate challenge last night after the Irish Hospital Consultants Association described Government plans to cut pay rates for newly appointed specialist doctors by 30 per cent as “unacceptable”.

The association also told members in an internal document that there was no agreement yet on proposals for work practice reforms. This was despite the Minister’s claim, following talks on the issue last week, that the proposals were being backed by consultants’ representative bodies.