Gilmore swiftly appoints replacement for Shortall

Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore appointed Alex White as junior minister in the Department of Health in a bid to swiftly move on from the fallout of the resignation of Roisín Shortall.

The Labour leader, who was in New York, dismissed suggestions he had failed to support Ms Shortall in her dispute with Health Minister James Reilly.

“She had my support at every stage, she had the support of the Government,” he told RTÉ news, insisting he was “not going to get into a blame game”.