Derek Nolan (Galway West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I completely accept everything Dr. McLoughlin said. I am not questioning his bona fides or integrity for one second. However, as Secretary General of the Department of Health, does he not accept that his officials chose to go to the United States of America around St. Patrick’s Day to learn about health provision? If we are looking at health models appropriate to the Irish system, I am not sure the American model is the one we want to follow.

The letter of the law may have been followed. I am sure events ticked the box for study visits. However, the fact is they were all to big cities in the United States, with one to Australia, around St. Patrick’s Day. Would they have been better off going to the United Kingdom, Germany, Scandinavia, places with proper health systems?