The claims were made in Richard Chambers’ book, A State of Emergency.
Stephen Donnelly has refuted claims that the Taoiseach had lost confidence in him as Minister for Health during the Covid-19 crisis.
The claims were made in Richard Chambers’ new book, A State of Emergency. The book depicts the government’s response to Covid-19 via hundreds of interviews, with cabinet members among them.
Donnelly responded to the claims on Prime Time on Tuesday night during an interview with Miriam O’Callaghan.
O’Callaghan asked if he agreed with the claims, and if Taoiseach Michéal Martin and Dr Tony Holohan had bypassed him:
“No, not at all, of course I don’t [agree with it]. And Richard’s book, I haven’t read it, I won’t be reading it. The bits I’ve seen are quotes from anonymous sources who never came back to check or get any response to them,” Donnelly said.
“Bits I’ve seen certainly don’t marry with my experience or the experience of other people who’ve been through this, so I think it was disappointing.”
Richard Chambers tweeted in response to Donnelly’s claims that he was not approached for comment about the statements made in the making of the book.
Many, many hours of interviews with senior members of NPHET, HSE and officials and Ministers in government.
The Minister in question was asked personally and through his advisor for follow-up interview…
— Richard Chambers (@newschambers) November 2, 2021
“Many, many hours of interviews with senior members of NPHET, HSE and officials and Ministers in government”, wrote Chambers.
“The Minister in question was asked personally and through his advisor for follow-up interview…”, he added.
A State of Emergency was released last week (28 October) and is currently on several best-seller lists across the country.
Main images via Leah Farrell & Eamon Farrell / RollingNews.ie
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