Fianna Fail yesterday attacked Mr Michael Noonan's record as minister for health in response to the Fine Gael leader's promise to make the Tipperary South by-election a "referendum on health".
Mr Noonan claimed on Tuesday, following an FG meeting in Clonmel, that Government inaction had set the health services back 10 years.
He was sharply criticised yesterday by Fianna Fail's director of elections, Mr Brian Lenihan TD, who said the problems in the health service were compounded by Mr Noonan's "seeming inability to spend money and bring about reform" when he was minister between 1995 and 1997.
"In the face of a 27 per cent rise in waiting lists, Fine Gael in government cut the funding allocated for reducing waiting lists by 20 per cent," he said.
"In the face of a growing need for nurses Fine Gael in government refused to provide more nurse-training places. In the face of historic underfunding Fine Gael in government increased the health budget by a mere £400 million."
The Clonmel-based Workers' and Unemployed Action Group also plans to make health a major issue in the campaign. Its candidate, Ms Phil Prendergast, said she would be asking why a CT scan at St Joseph's Hospital in Clonmel was still not in operation after the community had collected £400,000 to fund it.
The Labour Party leader, Mr Ruairi Quinn, claimed the Government had turned its back on towns such as Carrick-on-Suir, Cashel and Tipperary, and nothing had been done to provide secure, well-paid jobs for these communities. Cllr Denis Landy is the party's candidate. Senator Tom Hayes is standing for Fine Gael, and the Fianna Fail candidate is Cllr Michael Maguire.
