Government under siege as Hanly row flares up

A FURIOUS row has broken out between the Government and critics of its plans to centralise acute hospital care with both sides accusing the other of lying.

Last night, Health Minister Micheál Martin said he was "baffled" by the arguments put forward by a new national health lobby opposed to the implementation of the Hanly Report, the Government's blueprint for health reform.

"I believe they are deliberately misrepresenting the truth to secure political advantage. Their criticism is fundamentally wrong," the minister said.