Michael Smith
Minister of Defence
The Minister for Defence, Michael Smith, has apologised to the Taoiseach for the stance he took last week on the future of Nenagh hospital in his own constituency.
In a letter written to Mr Ahern, the Minister said it had not been his intention to disagree with the Taoiseach publicly, to breach the rules of collective cabinet responsibility or to undermine the efforts of his colleagues to implement Government policy on the downgrading of regional hospitals.
The Minister also issued a statement in which he said the changes planned for regional hospital services must take local opinion and experiences into account, but that he deeply regretted giving the appearance of being at variance with Government policy.
