Jerry Buttimer (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister for Health, Deputy Leo Varadkar, the Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, the director general of the Health Service Executive, HSE, Mr. Tony O'Brien, and his staff in the HSE, Ms Laverne McGuinness, Mr. John Hennessy, Mr. Liam Woods, Mr. Pat Healy, Ms Anne O'Connor and Dr. Colm Henry to our quarterly meeting. I thank Mr. Ray Mitchell and Mr. Derek McCormack for their co-operation and assistance in the co-ordination of the meeting.

Our quarterly meeting is an opportunity for members to discuss issues in the health portfolio of the Department of Health and the Health Service Executive. I thank the Minister and the Minister of State for their attendance. We have received apologies from Deputy Ciara Conway and Senators Colm Burke and Imelda Henry. Deputy Healy will be late to the meeting.

I am sure all members will join me in congratulating Professor William Campbell who yesterday was jointly awarded the Nobel Prize for medicine and physiology. Professor Campbell is currently the research fellow emeritus at Drew University, Madison, New Jersey, and hails from Ramelton in County Donegal. Members will agree that his award-winning contribution to the fight against infectious diseases will help to save many lives. We congratulate him on his outstanding award.

As I did last Thursday, I also wish to thank and pay tribute to our good friend, Mr. Paddy Burke, the former head of the primary care reimbursement scheme, PCRS, who has retired. For members of the committee who had the pleasure of dealing with him, he was a good man with whom to do business. One certainly would not wish to pick a fight with him without having the full facts. I thank him for his courtesy, professionalism and good humour. If I were going into battle, I would certainly have him on my side rather than against me. I wish him and his family every success, health and happiness in his retirement. He was a very nice person to deal with and, on my behalf, I thank him for his service to the State and his assistance to the committee. I am sure members will join me in saying that.