Ahern says Harney will be in job 'for many years to come'

The Taoiseach has defended the Minister for Health Mary Harney and said she will be in the job for many years to come.

The Taoiseach responded to questions about backbencher Ned O'Keeffe's call for her resignation by reaffirming his support for Ms Harney, who faces a vote of confidence from the Opposition tomorrow evening.

"I was talking to Mary Harney this morning. She is totally committed to bringing in reforms. There are things we are absolutely determined to do. We'll be working together. Mary Harney won't be resigning. She'll be continuing on her reform programme for many years to come."

Speaking after a launch of a heart-monitoring device that can be accessed by doctors online at the Mater hospital in Dublin, Mr Ahern said progress was being made in the health service despite the cancer scandal at the Midlands hospital in Portlaoise.

"This is just one example of where we can build up well-resourced, well-staffed areas where we have top-class people who are able to do a maximum number of cases. If we can do that in an organised way, this will have a huge benefit for the health service."

Ms Harney said she would be robustly defending her record when she faces the no-confidence debate, which starts tonight.

"I'm not a quitter. I'm not going off the pitch. If Dáil Éireann decides to fire me, that's a different matter, but I will be laying out my stall," she said yesterday.

She distanced herself from the cancer debacle by saying that she acted as quickly as concerns were raised about the treatment of patients in the Midlands hospital in Portlaoise and at both Cork University Hospital (CUH) and University College Hospital Galway (UCHG).

"I have nothing to be afraid of. I have nothing to be ashamed about and there is certainly no action or inaction of mine that caused any unnecessary delays for patients.

"From the very moment I became aware of issues to do with patients in August and subsequently, I acted speedily, quickly and thoroughly as I did last Thursday when I became aware of the issue around 97 patients.

"I'm not going to be taken off the focus simply because of the politics in Dáil Éireann. Politics is the reason we have so many deficiencies in the past in relation to how cancer services were organised."

Ms Harney expressed satisfaction at an internal review in CUH and a Health Information and Quality Authority inquiry at UCHG into the misdiagnosis of cancer tests carried out by a locum clinical pathologist who was forced to resign from CUH in August of this year, having previously worked at UCHG.

"I'm extremely satisfied with the manner in which events have been handled both in Galway and Cork. I have no issues in relation to the handling of any issues that arise as far as patient care is concerned.

"I am satisfied that Cork University Hospital acted appropriately as soon as they became aware of any issues to do with patients."

Ms Harney acknowledged that the recalling of some women for further tests was a "terrible, worrying, traumatic situation", but she said it was an exception in an Irish healthcare system that is a "model of good care".

"These are exceptional situations and they must be put in context."

She also revealed that none of the women who were called back over the weekend for further tests at the Midlands hospital in Portlaoise showed any signs of developing cancer.

"I know that other patients are going be seen and we won't know the outcome until later this week, but it is very reassuring to know that the health service, when it focused on the issue over this weekend, was able to see so many patients and give them the reassurance that many of them sought," she said.