Fidelma Healy Eames (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

General practitioners have informed me that their budgets are so tight, they are unable to replace obsolete equipment. The Minister of State is correct that we must shift our focus from hospitals to primary care and the community setting. To do this, we must help general practitioners to buy the diagnostic equipment they require to carry out X-rays in the community and procure the information technology that enables them to send X-rays to hospitals. If general practitioners are so hamstrung by the Government that they cannot sign up to the contract, universal health care for children aged under six years will not be implemented and general practitioners will not be able to sign up to the contract as they will not be able to afford the equipment they need. This is a catch-22 scenario. How many general practitioners must the Government have on side if it is to deliver a semblance of universality?