A&E 'emergency' admission sparks uproar

TAOISEACH Bertie Ahern struggled to defend the Government's record on the health services yesterday following Tánaiste Mary Harney's admission that the A&E crisis constituted a national emergency.

Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny said that in some of the world's poorest countries, such as Peru, people had to bring their own drugs to hospital. Of the Irish situation, he added: "In a country that is knee-deep in financial wealth, it appears that people here need to bring a bed or chair to a hospital."

The Tánaiste's "national emergency" statement on Tuesday represented "a complete reversal of the Taoiseach's claim that there is no crisis in the health service", Mr Kenny said.