Concerns over Government's ability to implement Hanly

Fine Gael has criticised the Hanly report for offering "no realistic solutions on how to handle a pending crisis in the health service".

The party's health spokeswoman Ms Olivia Mitchell said: "Given the Government's record of mismanagement and its failure to deliver on promised health reforms when budgets were in surplus, Fine Gael has no confidence in the Government's ability to effect such an enormous change without endangering lives."

The report fails to disguise the lack of preparation for the impending European Working Time Directive deadline which states that junior doctors cannot work longer than 48 hours per week in 2009, she said.

At the moment junior doctors work on average 75 hours per week and some work up to 129 hours per week.

"A call for pilot projects and further reports are a completely inadequate response to the challenge of meeting the EU deadline of reducing junior doctors' hours" she said.

"Fine Gael is opposed to the reduction in the number of hospitals delivering A&E services envisaged in this report. A reduction from 40 such hospitals to 12 is not equitable, it is not safe and is not acceptable," according to Ms Mitchell.

She was joined in her criticism by her Opposition colleague Labour Party health spokeswoman, Ms Liz McManus, who said she was dismayed that the Government was setting up another committee in response to the publication of the Hanly report.

"Micheal Martin and his ministerial colleagues may feel that it is safer for them to kick the issue of the new configuration of the hospital service into touch until after next year's local and European elections, but further delays are not in the interest of the health service of those who depend on it. Change is needed but informed public debate about the nature of that change is also essential."

However she admitted that "the recommendations on manpower in the report are generally welcome and are in line with reforms advocated by the Labour Party for a consultant-led hospital service."

The report was welcomed by the Irish Hospital Consultants Association (IHCA), with whom the Minister will shortly start negotiating a new consultant's contract.

The IHCA secretary general, Mr Finbarr Fitzpatrick said: "The recommendations regarding the reconfiguration of hospitals is likely to generate considerable debate. It is essential that definitive decisions on this aspect of the report be taken at an early date."

He restated the consultants' view that "the greatest single problem in our hospital services is lack of capacity. This must be addressed in tandem with the Hanly Report."

But the timescale for hiring extra consultants is unsatisfactory, according to Mr Ffitzpatrick. "We welcome the proposal to increase the number of consultants to 3,100 by 2009 and to 3,600 by 2013. However, we must caution that this timetable is unsatisfactory. . . . It will take a significant number of years to train, recruit and place these consultants in hospitals."