O’Keeffe: Medical card fiasco was collective cabinet error

A SENIOR minister last night attempted to shore up the crumbling authority of the Taoiseach and Health Minister, insisting the medical cards fiasco was a collective cabinet mistake.

Education Minister Batt O’Keeffe moved to shield Ms Harney from growing resignation calls as he admitted the Government must take the hit. “I don’t see any reason why she would go. The decision was a collective cabinet decision. All of the items were put on the table and any mistakes that were made, we shared that mistake collectively,” he said.

However, Mr O’Keeffe was noticeably more ambiguous when assessing the damage the crisis had done to Brian Cowen.