FG says health reports a delaying tactic

CONSULTANTS have been on “a constant gravy train” over the past six years as shelves at the Department of Health heave under the weight of costly reports on reform of the service, Fine Gael claimed last night.

Olivia Mitchell, the party's spokesperson on health, said the department had spent almost €9m on reports, reviews and expert committees since July 1997. That figure covered just 53 of 121 such initiatives.

The Government had also spent an additional €133,000 on the Brennan Report, a value-for-money audit of the health service, commissioned by the Department of Finance.