A body set up by the Government to give local councillors a say in HSE matters has passed a motion of no confidence in the Minister for Health Mary Harney.

The crisis surrounding breast cancer services in the state was tonight branded one of the blackest chapters in the recent history of the country's health system.

The Health Service Executive (HSE) today insisted patient care improved last year even though it admitted failing to spend nearly a fifth of its €555m budget.

The mother-of-three at the centre of a botched breast cancer test controversy will today meet with Minister for Health Mary Harney.

Hospital consultants are staging the first day of an industrial dispute over new contracts today.

Turning the ongoing nurses dispute into an election issue will not find a solution, Minister for Health Mary Harney warned today.

The Health Service Executive has begun inviting tenders for the construction of private health facilities in the grounds of six public hospitals across the country.

Minister for Health Mary Harney today maintained the nurses' dispute will only be resolved if unions adhere to the state’s industrial procedures.

Quinn Group chairman Sean Quinn has given a commitment to save the 300 Bupa jobs in Fermoy, whilst pledging to take on the Government and its risk equalisation policy.

Risk equalisation is fundamental to the private health insurance sector, the Minister for Health Mary Harney said today, despite a report painting a grim picture of the marketplace.

There has been a breakthrough in the contract row between the Health Service Executive and hospital consultants.

Relatives of former Leas Cross patients are to make a formal complaint about the Health Service Executive to the Minister for Health Mary Harney today.

An extra €1bn will go towards healthcare in tomorrow's budget estimates, according to Minister for Health Mary Harney.

A LONG-TIME cancer services campaigner has begun an online petition which he hopes will spur the Government into action.

The National Women's Council is calling on the Minister for Health Mary Harney to draw up a new health strategy for women that meets international standards.

The Tánaiste and Minister for Health Mary Harney has announced a relaxation of the eligibility for GP-only medical cards.

Nurses are due to vote today on a motion of no confidence in the Tánaiste and Minister for Health Mary Harney.

The Irish Nurses Organisation is to deliver thousands of postcards to the Tánaiste and Minister for Health Mary Harney today as part of its on-going campaign for action to tackle the A&E crisis.

The Tánaiste and Minister for Health Mary Harney has insisted that Ireland is well prepared to deal with a possible bird flu outbreak.

The Tánaiste and Minister for Health Mary Harney has vowed to bring closure to the victims of Dr Michael Neary as soon as possible.

An Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has reiterated his Government's apology for the suffering endured by women who had their wombs unnecessarily removed by Dr Michael Neary.

A PUBLIC inquiry into the quality of hospital care in the north-east is expected to be held at the end of April.

LESS than one-in-five patients who deliberately harm themselves are admitted to a general hospital, according to the Irish Association of Suicidology (IAS).

The Government is coming under fire from the opposition today over its apparent decision to contest a claim for compensation arising out of the illegal nursing-home charges scandal.

The health insurance company BUPA will have liabilities of €161m over three years and would be forced out of the Irish medical insurance market if the risk equalisation scheme is introduced by Health Minister Mary Harney, the High Court was told today.

The Tánaiste and Minister for Health Mary Harney has welcomed the High Court's refusal to grant an injunction blocking the introduction of risk equalisation on January 1.

Vhi Healthcare today welcomed the decision by Tánaiste and Minister for Health Mary Harney to trigger the Risk Equalisation scheme effective from January 1.

The Tánaiste and Minister for Health Mary Harney is due to make an announcement today on whether she plans to introduce 'risk equalisation' in the health insurance market.

A report into the death of a 61-year-old man at Leas Cross nursing home in north Co Dublin is due to be published today.

Ambulance drivers in Galway have begun an unofficial two-hour stoppage to protest against staff shortages.

The Tánaiste and Minister for Health Mary Harney is due to meet the Parents for Justice group today to discuss the stalled investigation into the retention of children's organs by Irish hospitals.

The Tánaiste and Minister for Health Mary Harney is reportedly due to receive the Dunne Inquiry’s final report later today.

THE State probe into the organ retention controversy has turned into a “monumental mess” that could politically damage the Government, a campaign group warned yesterday.

Niamh Nolan

Fine Gael has accused the Tánaiste and Minister for Health Mary Harney of keeping quiet on her plans for health care reform.