Minister for Health James Reilly has said that the country is broke and the Coalition Government inherited "an absolute mess" from the last administration.
Dr Reilly was reacting to the launch of an €8m fundraising campaign to renovate the cancer and cardiac units at Our Lady's Children's Hospital in Crumlin in Dublin.
He said the best way forward is to build a new hospital for children, so that they can have the best treatment in the best environment. The Government is committed to this, he added.
The Minister said there were huge challenges to improve the health service at a time when €2.5bn had been cut from the health budget.
He conceded that there were going to be areas where people had serious concerns.
Last month, An Bord Pleanála refused planning permission for the proposed National Children's Hospital, saying it would constitute overdevelopment of the Mater Hospital site.
