The plan by the Minister for Health, Ms Harney, to sell off surplus lands attached to hospitals and health facilities to generate funds for services was criticised by the Opposition yesterday.
Labour's health spokeswoman Ms Liz McManus described the move as "a panic measure".
"She's really floundering if she thinks by selling off land around hospitals that somehow that is going to resolve issues," she said.
She agreed there was a need for an audit of lands around hospitals, but said this should be done with a view to planning for expansion of services.
She pointed out that there was "a good plot of land" around St Columcille's Hospital in Loughlinstown, Dublin, and she said if Ms Harney sold it it would stymie forever the prospect of the hospital expanding, even though the hospital was in an area that was probably growing faster than any other part of the country.
Her party colleague Mr Joe Costello warned that the Progressive Democrats would have everything sold if they weren't put out of Government quickly.
He noted that not alone was Ms Harney planning to sell off surplus lands in the health sector, but the Minister for Justice, Mr McDowell, was "flogging prisons" and the Minister of State at the Department of Finance, Mr Tom Parlon, was "flogging anything he could get his hands on".
Dr Liam Twomey, Fine Gael's health spokesman, said Ms Harney was giving the impression that selling land would solve the crises in the health service, but this was just "playing politics". The problems in the acute hospitals and primary care were too great to be solved by "selling a few acres here and a few buildings there", he added.
The Green Party's health spokesman Mr John Gormley said he was not enthusiastic about the idea.
"It's avoiding the real issue of restructuring the health service and dealing with the consultants' contract," he said.