'MY GRANDSON HAS HAD HIS OP POSTPONED FOUR TIMES NOW..IT'S SERIOUS' Dunphy pain as Braiden waits for heart surgery.

Byline: NAOMI McELROY

BROADCASTER Eamon Dunphy yesterday revealed his heartache after a lifesaving operation for his grandson was cancelled four times.

Born with the left part of his heart not properly formed, five--year-old Braiden needs the surgery to survive.

Hitting out at the dire situation at Our Lady's Children's Hospital in Dublin, Dunphy, 63, said: "My daughter Colette has a child very seriously ill, involved in the Crumlin thing.

"I haven't, I mean, I don't, I've done very little because I don't want to detract from it.

"But I've been in Crumlin hospital. It's pretty terrible for the people who work there.

"The nurses and doctors do their best, but my daughter's child has had his operation postponed four times and it's serious, he's terminally ill. So, it's desperate."

He slammed the HSE, saying there were "5,000 people in there with no work to do".

He also blasted the Health Minister, and added: "People are suffering around the country...Mary Harney? Mary Harney has no mandate to be in government. Mary Harney has no party.

"The PDs' mandate ran out when the party collapsed, but she's still implementing PD policy. What's that about?" And he branded the rest of the Government zombies.

He said: "There is a paralysis at Government level, there is a paralysis in the civil service. You can see it in Cowen's face, you can see it in Lenihan's face. We talk about zombie banks, we have a zombie Government.

"They don't know how to react because nothing prepared them for this. And they don't have the qualifications.

"They've been in office for 20 out of the last 22 years. They have no experience of crisis management.

"They don't understand what happened to the banks, they don't understand how to put it right, there is no consensus."

The soccer pundit added: "I've been made offers by all the parties over the years. And if I ever did, it really would be a national emergency.

"Of course, I think any citizen who feels they could contribute should contribute, but I'd be laughing at myself while I was doing it.

"I think the public are highly sceptical of celebrity candidates, and so am I, so for that reason I've desisted so far."

Despite this he likes newly-electeFine Gael TD George Lee, who was formerly RTE's economics editor.

Dunphy said: "He has the expertise. I think he has convictions about things. I always thought he was a very good reporter, he always told it as he saw it, and I admire him for doing it."

But if he were put in charge of the country, Fianna Fail would be the first thing to go.

He said: "They are a cancer. Get all their cronies out of the quangos.

"What are they doing there? Just smash the crony capitalism."

CAPTION(S):

SLAMMED Harney DELAYS Crumlin hospital is under pressure CLOSE Eamon Dunphy with daughter Colette and ill grandson Braiden