Defence Minister Michael Smith has said he will be a candidate in the next election and has insisted he has nothing to fear from any Cabinet reshuffle.
Mr Smith is at the centre of controversy surrounding critical remarks yesterday about the Hanly Report on hospital reorganisation.
The minister's remarks followed speculation that his public criticism of the Hanly Report was prompted by an attempt to secure the political succession of his son in the General Election or by fears that he might be dropped in a mid-term Cabinet reshuffle.
But in a statement this morning, he insisted that he was 'most definitely' running in the next election and said he is 'not at all afraid' of a Cabinet reshuffle.
Mr Smith dismissed these suggestions in a statement, saying he was gearing all his energy towards securing the best service for Nenagh Hospital and the people of North Tipperary.
A hint of the Cabinet tensions caused by his remarks came when Health Minister Micheál Martin pointedly referred to Mr Smith's constituency colleague, Maire Hoctor, as having acted in a professional way when she came to him privately with her reservations about the plan for Nenagh Hospital.
Speaking in Rome, the Taoiseach said that the Hanly reforms represented Government policy and maintained once more that Mr Smith supported the plan.
