The Taoiseach has denied there is any disunity in the Cabinet after the Minister for Health implicitly criticised the Minister for Finance, over health funding. Mr Martin and Mr McCreevy met yesterday, but neither side would disclose what they discussed.
Despite claiming in an interview that Mr McCreevy had lost sight of the big picture on the question of the development of the health service, Mr Martin insisted to journalists yesterday that he understood Mr McCreevy's position. Mr Martin's assertion that the Government was in danger of undermining its own achievements in health followed recent disclosures that Mr McCreevy had complained to him about health expenditure.
A funding squeeze has led to cutbacks at a number of major hospitals, including the Mater, St Vincent's and the National Maternity Hospital, all in Dublin.
Mr Ahern claimed yesterday that the two Ministers were "very close to each other". In Brussels, he said: "There is no disunity whatever on the health issue in the Cabinet. Naturally, the Minister for Health will always look for more resources. He has been very successful at it."
Sources close to Mr Martin rejected suggestions that Mr Martin spoke to the Irish Independent on Wednesday to protect his position before the publication of two major reports on health, which are expected to be very critical of the system. The same sources said there was "nothing significant" in the timing of the interview.
Mr Martin's spokeswoman said she believed he had spoken to Mr McCreevy at the Order of Business proceedings in the Dáil yesterday. Mr McCreevy's spokesman would say only that he understood the two had met, but he did not know where.
Mr Martin said in the interview that Mr McCreevy and the Department of Health were obliged to accept that health services would rise, not fall.
He said: "I would have the view that in its desire, understandable and all as it is, to try and rein in health and to try and get better value for money, which I fully agree with, they have lost sight of the bigger picture in terms of the advances the Government has made. They run the risk of undermining the Government's own achievements."
When asked yesterday about his comments, Mr Martin said: "I've said time and time again that I understand fully where the Minister for Finance is coming from. I understand his role, his responsibilities, and I've always said that." Mr Martin added, however, that he had to work within "the budget we have".
"I'm confident that we have Cabinet support for the development of the health services in the context of budgetary circumstances," he said.
The Minister is preparing for the formal publication of two reports on the health service, which are likely to call for a major reform of the sector.
A Department of Finance report by Prof Niamh Brennan, of UCD, is known to state that there is no clear accountability in the service. It calls for sweeping structural changes in the health service, including giving greater financial responsibility to GPs and hospital consultants.
A separate audit for Mr Martin's Department is believed to criticise structures in the service.
Mr Martin defended the performance of the sector yesterday, stating that there had been "huge increases" in the number of procedures offered to patients and significant increases in the number of people treated under "almost any heading".
