Minister for Health Mary Harney has accused the Opposition of attempting to distort the purpose of the Government's plans for the co-location of private health services alongside public hospitals.
Ms Harney issued a statement this evening in response to claims of a "rift" between herself and the chief executive of the Health Service Executive Brendan Drumm over the issue.
The claim was made in a news story on the radio station Newstalk. The station said it understood that only four out of a proposed eight hospitals would be co-located in the short term because the plan was to be cut back.
Minister for Health Mary Harney
This evening Ms Harney insisted the HSE was proceeding with the plan and that it will be considered by the board next Monday for final invitation to tender.
"Despite intensive efforts by Opposition parties to distort it, the co-location initiative has one purpose: to free up approximately 1,000 beds in public hospitals for public patients in a cost-effective way," Ms Harney said in a statement.
"It will improve services for those patients. It will make sure that all patients will be admitted to all the beds in the public hospital, and are admitted in order of medical need. It will also mean that the private facility will be available for use by the public sector at discounted prices based on service level agreements."
Ms Harney said the HSE was proceeding to implement the initiative and had completed "an enormous amount of work on it in a public procurement process".
"It is due to be considered by the board next Monday for final invitation to tender. The process will continue to be managed efficiently by the HSE. The goals of the policy will be achieved."
Fine Gael and the Labour Party were attempting to call into question the process by linking it with the general election, the Minister said.
"They are the only ones who have done this. Their statements are purely negative. For them to question the timing of signing of contracts or award of contracts is a smokescreen.
"Their stated intention, if they were to form part of the next government, is to destroy this initiative and any new private investment by removing the tax breaks for investment in hospitals," the Minister said.
Speaking on Newstalk, Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny said the Government's health programme was "in tatters" and that if the report was true, then the proposal to provide 1,000 beds was "simply out the window".
"Fine Gael strenuously objects the privatization of the public health system by stealth and by the sale of public lands for private hospitals at public hospitals," he said.
Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny
"There is a new initiative being brought in called 'preferred bidders status' which might mean that no contracts for these might be signed at all - which will be in the people's interest. The Government has no mandate for what they're doing here - the confusion, the secrecy, the rows between the HSE, the Department of Health and the Minister of Health.
"This headlong rush to get this proposal through an extremely tight deadline for some peculiar reason leaves many questions unanswered in people's minds," Mr Kenny said.
The Labour Party's health spokeswoman Liz McManus said today's report demonstrated the need for the entire co-location plan to be scrapped.
"I am relieved that this flawed, ideologically-driven scheme, pioneered by the Minister for Health, Mary Harney, and repeatedly endorsed by the Taoiseach, is being met by stringent opposition within the Health Service Executive," she said.
"These revelations that there is such reservation at the highest levels of the HSE must be taken seriously. Mary Harney must now make an immediate statement on the future of the plan and whether or not it will proceed," Ms McManus said.
Sinn Féin health spokesman Caomhghín Ó Caoláin also called for the project to be abandoned.
"This hospital co-location plan has always been totally ill-conceived, developer-driven and designed to worsen the two-tier health system. Now it is turning out to be a complete shambles," he said.