Harney on US fact-finding trip

The Minister for Health Mary Harney will hold talks with a US government minister during a fact-finding visit in the US this week, it emerged tonight.

The five-day trip, which continues until Friday, includes engagements in Washington DC and states including Arizona and Minnesota.

Official talks with US Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services’ Tevi Troy are included in the itinerary.

The minister will also meet health experts at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota and the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Maryland.

Ms Harney began her trip by attending the Super Bowl at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona on Sunday.

Opposition TDs tonight criticised the absence of the Health Minister from a key debate on the health service in the Dáil.