FORMER Health Minister James Reilly has warned that the introduction of mandatory reporting of medical mistakes could result in doctors covering up negligence.

Senator Reilly said Department of Health officials advised him against introducing legislation which would mean doctors would be legally obliged to inform patients when they made mistakes.

Dr Reilly said he is personally in favour of mandatory reporting but insisted doctors and nurses also need to be protected.

“With mandatory disclosure you will still get people, I hate to have to say it, but the reality is you will get people hiding stuff purposely,” Mr Reilly told Independent.ie’s Floating Voter podcast.

He said there is a culture of fear in the health service which prevents doctors and nurses from speaking up when they make mistakes.

“We need to support medics and nurses to do their job and accept that they're human and accept that errors occur,” he said.

Mr Reilly’s warning follows the devastating news that terminally ill cancer patient Emma Mhic Mahathuna was previously given incorrect smear test results.

Senator Reilly his “thoughts and prayers” are with Ms Mhic Mahathuna and her family.

However, he said he is not in favour of HSE director Tony O’Brien being sacked as it could result in legal challange.

During the wide-ranging Floating Voter interview, Mr Reilly revealed he was disappointed that Taoiseach Leo Varadkar scrapped his plan to abolish the HSE when he succeed him as Minister for Health.

He also discussed his proposal to extend the smoking ban and his opposition to giving the Irish diaspora a vote on the presidency.

A Fianna Fail TD has said she does not have confidence in under-fire HSE director Tony O’Brien but believes he should remain in place to answer questions over knowledge of the Cervical Check scandal.

Galway East TD Anne Rabbitte said Mr O’Brien should play his role in the scoping exercise into the “sordid” controversy which was exposed by cancer patient Vicky Phelan.

“I can’t say I seriously have confidence in Tony O’Brien but do I believe Tony O’Brien should go? No I don’t because what I want out of this is I want a scoping exercise and I want him to play his role in it for the next number of weeks,” Mr Rabbitte told Independent.ie Floating Voter podcast.

“There has to be accountability and he was the one who was responsible for the balances and checks and how the process was run,” she added.

Asked if she had confidence in Health Minister Simon Harris, Ms Rabbitte said she does not have “confidence in the process”.

She also said she believes the referendum to repeal the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution will not be passed.

Ms Rabbitt sat on the Oireachtas Committee that proposed unrestricted abortion up to 12 weeks of pregnancy.

However, she did not vote in favour of the proposal.

She does support abortion in the case of rape, incest and fatal foetal abnormalities.

Michael D Higgins’ handlers have asked reporters not to ask the president about seeking a second term in office while he is on State visits, the Floating Voter podcast heard today.

The host of the Independent.ie podcast, Kevin Doyle, revealed that the President’s advisers - on at least two occasions - have asked members of the press not to ask Mr Higgins about his intentions ahead of his seven year tenure ending this year.

Meanwhile, Sunday Independent Political Correspondent Philip Ryan said it is a “complete nonsense” for the President to suggest his decision does not affect anyone else.

However, the Irish Independent’s Nicola Anderson said the President should be given a second term in office.

The podcast also has exclusive audio of Mr Higgins giving his most revealing comments to date on a second term in office while visiting the UN in New York.

The latest political row between Fianna Fail and Fine Gael is also discussed along with analysis of internal tensions in the Independent Alliance over a coveted junior ministry post.

It would be “criminal” to allow the controversy engulfing Communications Minister derail the abortion referendum, a People Before Profit TD has said.

Bríd Smith told this week’s ‘Floating Voter’ podcast that while Denis Naughten should be sanction for his interactions with a lobbyist, it should not put the Government at risk.

She describes the various elements of the story surrounding Independent News & Media (INM) in recent weeks as a “tangled web”.

“It’s a really complicated tangled web – but I know the average person out there hasn’t a clue. They are completely lost about what’s going on,” she said.

The podcast, hosted by INM’s Group Political Editor Kevin, also hears the views of political correspondent Philip Ryan and Irish Independent Legal Affairs Editor Shane Phelan.

Referring to phone contacts between Mr Naughten and a lobbyist working for INM in November 2016, Ms Smith says: “Irish people need to be aware that this type of lobbying goes on all the time. It is really, really intense.”

She noted that some senators had more than 700 representations in relation recent changes to the alcohol laws.

Asked whether she believes Mr Naughten should resign, the Dublin South Central TD replies: “I think that to collapse the Government over this would be criminal before the referendum. We need to have that referendum. We’ve waited so long to get it. It’s really a very, very crucial moment for Irish politics.”

But she adds that Taoiseach Leo Varadkar should hold the minister to account.

The panel also discuss the Eighth Amendment campaign to date and whether Housing Minister Eoghan Muprhy is too elitist to fix the housing crisis.

Neale Richmond was commenting after Junior Minister for Older People Jim Daly said he had no ideological issue with Sinn Fein working with Fine Gael in government.

Speaking to Independent.ie’s Floating Voter Podcast Mr Richmond insisted he does not share his Fine Gael’s colleague view and would rather quit the party than serve with Sinn Fein.

Mr Richmond also discussed the British media’s coverage of Brexit negotiations and recent comments by leading UK politicians about Ireland’s position in the talks.

The senator also said he would like to see Ireland’s neutrality debated along with the possibility of further integration with the EU on security defence.

LABOUR Party Leader Brendan Howlin has described Taoiseach Leo Varadkar's live radio comments during the Belfast rape trial as "mind blowing".

Mr Howlin said the Taoiseach's intervention while the trial of Irish rugby player Paddy Jackson was on going was "unfortunate is to put it mildly".

"For anybody to make comment publicly in the middle of a trial is bad. For a politician it is doubly bad and for a Taoiseach it is quite mind blowing," he told Independent.ie's Floating Voter podcast.

Mr Howlin also discussed comments made by his party colleague Labour Senator Aodhan O Riordain on Twitter in the aftermath of the trial.

Mr O Riordain was critical of the not guilty verdict and referred to the defendants as "smug well-connected middle class boys".

Mr Howlin said Mr O Riordain "regretted" his comments and took down the tweet almost immediately. However, it did gain more than 500 retweets.

"He spoke to me yesterday (and said) 'hands up, made a mistake, it should not have happened'," Mr Howlin said

Mr Howlin said he was happy he was not a juror in the controversial trial because "just reading the evidence was very disturbing".

He said everyone involved in the case comes away "wound" by the nine week trial in Belfast.

Mr Howlin also discussed the Government's decisions to expel a Russian diplomat and the forthcoming abortion referendum.

A SENIOR Fianna TD has said Micheál Martin should consider appointing a female politician as his deputy leader.

Lisa Chambers said she would consider applying for the position should Mr Martin decide to finally appoint a deputy.

The Mayo TD also said she would one day like to consider becoming the Taoiseach.

"I want to be in Cabinet and I would absolutely at some point love to consider the prospect of becoming Taoiseach. Why not? Why not have those hopes?" Ms Chambers told Independent.ie's Floating Voter Podcast.

Mr Martin has refused to appoint a deputy leader since becoming leader of Fianna Fail which has led to years of disquiet within the party .

Asked why Mr Martin does not have a deputy leader, Ms Chambers said: "I don't know the answer to why he doesn't, I'll ask him later actually."

She added: "If the job opens up certainly I'll consider it."

She also said the lack of female politicians in Fianna Fail was "not acceptable" but insisted the party is doing everything it can to change this.

"We have six female TDs which I will say very openly that's not acceptable and we want to see more," she said.

"Out of those six female TDs, four of us are on the frontbench. I think that's good. I'm not saying we are where we should be.

"We are actively encouraging women to join the party, to run for elected office both at local and national level and quite honestly those of us elected in the last term were given every support," she added.

She said she has experienced no "push backs" or "obstacles" from her male colleagues since becoming a TD.

Ms Chambers joined Kevin Doyle, Philip Ryan and Shona Murray on the Floating Voter Podcast where she also spoke about the forthcoming abortion referendum, the controversy surrounding the Strategic Communications unit and Ireland's neutrality.

This week on The Floating Voter, fresh from a Brexit Breakfast hosted by Leo Varadkar, Kevin Doyle is joined in studio by Philip Ryan and Shona Murray.

After the launch of Project Ireland 2040 we ask is it propaganda over planning.

We bring you the analysis of Leo's speech at the Brexit breakfast, scrambled rashers and all.

As Leo calls out Theresa May on being dependent on the DUP to prop up her Government we ask is Northern Ireland the unwanted ugly step child of a failed marriage.

And as Fine Gael make more gains in the polls we ask when will it be time to go to the country... again.

This week on The Floating Voter Kevin Doyle is joined by Shona Murray and Philip Ryan.

In studio we have Fianna Fail TD for Longford-West Meath and spokesman for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Robert Troy.

As the government head to Sligo to discuss the national development plan we discuss the best way to spend €115 Billion.

With so many rural areas competing for a slice of the pie will there enough slices for all or is parish pump politics stopping whats best for the national interest and creating opposition for oppositions sake.

And we look North as Arlene Foster pulls the plug on talks at Stormont, where do we go from here?

On this weeks Floating Voter Kevin Doyle is joined by Philip Ryan and Shouna Murray, with Fianna Fail TD Barry Cowen in studio to discuss the National Broadband Scheme.

also up for discussion is the decommissioning of Gerry Adams as President of Sinn Fein, is he doing a Farage and leaving a shinking ship?

and the almighty row between the Healy-Rae's and Mark McSharry that erupted in the Dail made headlines around the world. An embarassment for all?