Time for all at sea Si to jump ship

must be removed from office.” In response to Ms Mcdonald’s letter, Mr Martin said: “Simon Harris needs to correct the Dail and needs to apologise to the Dail.”

Former junior health minister and Social Democrats co-leader Roisin Shortall piled the pressure on to Mr Harris as well.

She said: “It is incredulous the Taoiseach this morning continues to express confidence in a minister whose position is clearly untenable. The Taoiseach is also downplaying the impact on Budget 2019 of this massive cost overrun.

“But the reality is both the capital budget and general health spending will take a massive hit as a result of such appalling mismanagement of this critically important hospital project.

“The Social Democrats will certainly support any Dail no-confidence motion in the minister – and it is incumbent on Fianna Fail to do the same.”

Meanwhile, Mr Varadkar has declared full support for Mr Harris, who is the youngest member in Cabinet.

The Taoiseach and his Fine Gael colleagues circled the wagons in support of the minister last night after the bruising week of controversy surrounding the hospital project.

Mr Varadkar gave Mr Harris his full backing, for now. He said: “If Minister Harris had informed me any earlier of the emerging overrun in the cost of building the new NCH, I would have instructed him to do exactly what he did – explore all options to reduce the scale of it and to establish a precise and final figure.

“The impact on Budget 2019 is a red herring. It would have had no impact on the Budget Day package. Capital infrastructure spending profiles are now multi-annual and were announced in February 2018, not on Budget Day.

“The increase in the capital budget for 2019 was €1.5billion – €100million will have to be taken from this for the NCH overrun.

“It’s manageable. I have total confidence in Minister Harris.”

The impact on Budget 2019 is a red herring. It would have no impact

LEO VARADKAR YESTERDAY

SIMON Harris is like the schoolboy who was sent to do a man’s job – and found badly wanting.

He is the lad in short pants who as Health Minister is sinking beneath the waves.

He is most likely a decent man but woefully inexperienced and totally unfit for the nightmare job of running our health service.

The Department of Health has never been easy. Even a tough old political bruiser like former Taoiseach Brian Cowen compared it to war-torn Anglo during his time there – there were always landmines going off.

Enda Kenny gave Mr Harris the job because he is loyal and because he believed the young TD would make a half decent stab at it.

And if he blundered he was always young enough to bounce back.

But now with the nurses strike and the fiasco over the National Children’s Hospital, he has been found to be completely at sea, adrift from the scandal unfolding around him.

Doubt was cast on his credibility after it emerged he had been told of massive hospital overruns of €391million two months in advance of last year’s Budget.

Hapless Harris maintained he was unaware until November, and not August. He has some serious questions to answer.

Mr Varakdar says he has full confidence in him. That’s usually the kiss of death.

Time to go, Simon, before Leo pushes you.