MAUs . . . already operational in a handful of Irish hospitals . . . relieve the pressure on traditional A&E units by diverting medical cases to specialists, leaving A&E to concentrate on traumas and emergencies.

The consultants' report backing the introduction of MAUs has already been passed by the Health Service Executive (HSE), and Harney's Department of Health is now waiting for an appropriate time to publish its findings, according to an informed health service source.

"It says that MAUs should be installed in all 10 of the hospitals that were investigated by the consultants, " said the source. "Mary Harney is very keen on solving the A&E problem, and she is very keen on MAUs. It's highly likely that this plan would extend to all of the country's A&E units. The report is ready to go . . . we are expecting it in the next two weeks."

The investigation into Irish hospitals was conducted by UK healthcare consultants, Tribal Secta. Harney has quoted selectively from the study in the past, describing some of its findings as "indefensible".