Government suffers first defection over A&E vote

THE Government suffered its first defection last night when Fine Gael TD Denis Naughten voted against the Coalition over its decision to downgrade services at Roscommon Hospital.

The defection, just four months into the Government’s term, is a blow for the administration and signals the problems in store as it seeks to implement a range of more severe cutbacks later in the year.

It came after a frantic day of negotiations between Mr Naughten, Health Minister James Reilly and Government chief whip Paul Kehoe over the decision to close the emergency department (ED) at the hospital from Monday and replace it with a 24-hour “urgent care centre”.