Coalition at odds over disability cuts U-turn

Opposition parties accused the Government of descending into farce last night as ministers flatly contradicted each other on whether or not the coalition had U-turned on disability cuts.

Despite Health Minister James Reilly being forced into an embarrassing climb-down over plans to slash €10m worth of personal assistance care for disabled and elderly people, Education Minister Ruairi Quinn denied it amounted to a row-back.

His intervention was in sharp contrast to junior health minister Roisín Shortall who welcomed the U-turn as she took another swipe at her boss Dr Reilly for his poor communication abilities.