John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The amendment Deputy Denise Mitchell and I tabled has obviously been ruled out of order. It would have seen all of these benefits and measures come into effect on 1 January. I do not wish to repeat the points I have made about our hands being tied, but, unfortunately, the Minister not giving any timeframe for implementation of these benefits and measures. It comes back to a point that came up earlier that there has been no engagement by the Minister with either dentists or opticians on the rolling-out of these measures. That raises serious concerns. I alluded to some of these points earlier. The Minister spoke about the rolling out of free GP care services for children under the age of six years, but we know about the serious difficulties and the backlash from doctors in the roll-out of that scheme, with which there are still issues. I am not sure whether it was Deputy Leo Varadkar as Minister for Health or his predecessor as Minister for Social Protection who rolled it out, but the same modus operandiis being used in this instance in that the Government is looking to put the legislation in place before beginning negotiations. It failed with the doctors from whom there was a serious backlash. We are now being told that we are going down the same track with the dentists and opticians. That is why the Minister has drafted the amendment so as to put it on the long finger and start the negotiations after the introduction of the legislation. This is a dangerous practice and it failed previously. I have alluded to my concerns. This certainly makes it clear why the Minister is bringing forward the amendment, as opposed to giving us a timeframe and a specific date for when the benefits will be rolled out. It is alarming and concerning, to say the least. Will the Minister expand on the matter? Are these the reasons, or have I called it wrong?