The Health Minister Leo Varadkar has denied leaking an e-mail to the media in which he said 'heads will have to roll' because of the emergency department overcrowding crisis.

Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin is accusing Mr Varadkar of 'cynically' leaking the memo to the Irish Times in a bid to appear 'tough'.

Deputy Martin says the minister has presided over the failure of the health service to reduce the number of patients on trolleys - and is now trying to pass the blame.

Minister Varadkar says he was not behind the leak.

And Mr Varadkar says the person responsible for the data breach of more than 40 patient files at a hospital in Drogheda must be disciplined.

The Health Service Executive (HSE) and Data Protection Commissioner have launched separate investigations after the confidential documents were found on a street outside Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital.

Management have apologised for the breach, and say they will meet affected patients individually to discuss the matter.

Mr Varadkar says the incident is 'unacceptable' - and the person responsible must face the consequences.