The Taoiseach has denied that a publication of a wide ranging review of the performance of civil servants in the Department of Finance was deliberately delayed.
Speaking in Tullamore this evening Brian Cowen said that the Government was fighting the General Election on a four year plan and it was a question of dealing with the election without allowing a manipulative approach to be taken towards it.
Mr Cowen defended the Governments handling of the advice made available to them by the civil servants.
On Tuesday, an independent review of the performance of the Department of Finance over the past decade had found that the Department did warn the Government about the dangers of the economic policy it was following, but that its advice was overruled by the Cabinet.
The Wright Report had said that the budget-making process was overwhelmed by programmes for Government and social partnership.
The review was conducted by independent experts from Canada and Holland and looked at the advice the Department provided to Cabinet over the past decade.
Earlier, the Taoiseach Brian Cowen officially opened the new Midlands Regional Hospital in Tullamore this evening.
The new hospital which was built at a cost of €150m has currently 231 beds in operation and has been opened on a phased basis since 2007.
Mr Cowen said he was pleased to be able to contribute to the planning of the hospital which would deliver quality healthcare in a state-of-the-art facility.
The Taoiseach said that in the same way as he did not begrudge political opponents the outcome of the election he hoped they did not begrudge his right to officiate at the official opening of the hospital before the end of his political career.
