JUNIOR HEALTH MINISTER Róisín Shortall has resigned this evening following a much-publicised dispute with the Minister for Health James Reilly.

In brief, four paragraph statement issued tonight, Shortall said that she would also be resigning the Labour Party whip.

Here is her statement in full:

It is with regret that I have today tendered my resignation as Minister of State at the Department of Health to An Taoiseach, Enda Kenny. I have also informed the Tánaiste, Eamon Gilmore, that I am resigning the Parliamentary Labour Party whip.

It is no longer possible for me to fulfil my role as Minister of State for Primary Care because of lack of support for the reforms in the Programme for Government and the values which underpin it.

The public have a right to expect that decisions on health infrastructure and staffing will be made in the public interest based on health need and not driven by other concerns.

This decision comes after repeated and lengthy efforts to reach agreement on the implementation of the Programme for Government both within the Department of Health and across Government.

Read: Róisín Shortall resigns as Primary Care Minister