Leo Varadkar ‘must stop being detached analyst

Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin has insisted Health Minister Leo Varadkar must stop being “some sort of detached analyst” and take responsibility for health service crises if the problems are to be addressed.

He made the remarks after a week dominated by the trolleys scandal, but angrily rejected claims he is a hypocrite as the same difficulties damaged his own tenure in health a decade ago.

Speaking at the BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition at the RDS in Dublin, Mr Martin said the “appalling” situation in hospital emergency departments is an indictment of Government policies and the “fraudulent” budget last year.

He said the warning signs have been evident since Mr Varadkar was appointed to the health portfolio, but failed to be acted on for six months.

The Fianna Fáil leader said the minister must now “roll his sleeves up” and tackle the problems head on.

“The minister has acknowledged he was on notice this was going to happen. He needs to stop being a commentator and some sort of detached analyst.

“He is the health minister and needs to move with a far greater degree of urgency than he has to date,” Mr Martin said.

The Fianna Fáil leader said it is “not good enough for the minister to just say it’s going to get worse before it gets better”, arguing Mr Varadkar is “just playing clever politics with the issue”.

However, Mr Martin insisted he was “absolutely not” a hypocrite as the same problems dogged his own period as health minister between 2000 and 2004, saying that was “10 years ago”.

Speaking at the same event, former health minister Dr James Reilly said he was “fully supportive” of his replacement Mr Varadkar, who turned up at St Vincent’s Hospital yesterday to examine the trolley issue first-hand.

Tánaiste and Labour leader Joan Burton said the emergency department difficulties are “extremely upsetting” for anyone involved but twice declined to say she was ashamed of the situation.

Meanwhile, the son of ex-health minister Michael Woods has been appointed to address the trolley crisis.

Long-serving HSE official Liam Woods was named the new director of acute hospitals after news of Dr Tony O Connell’s resignation on Monday.