Keith Swanick (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I will be concise in my contributions because I understand that important parliamentary party meetings are happening in half an hour. I was absent earlier because there were statements on symphysiotomy in the Seanad, so some of my points may already have been touched on.

I thank the Minister of State and the HSE team for answering some of the questions I submitted. Things have moved on concerning scoliosis and I welcome that. I understand that the St. Senan's Hospital campus in Enniscorthy has been taken off the market and may be used as a third-level campus.

I want to refer briefly to the Alpha-1 anti-trypsin deficiency situation. As the committee knows, some 350 people suffer from that terrible disease. People literally cannot catch their breath and are suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or COPD. We all need to redouble our efforts and have a moral responsibility to resolve this matter. The US Food and Drug Administration has approved the drug Respreeza, as has the European Medicines Agency. It is already available in Italy, France, Germany, the Czech Republic, Austria, the Netherlands and Spain.

I also wish to comment briefly on the GP contract. I want to clarify that before becoming a Senator I was secretary of the National Association of General Practitioners. I feel strongly that in order to have a successful outcome to this matter we need equal status. I often use this comparison - would we have had a successful Good Friday Agreement if all the stakeholders, including Sinn Féin, the UUP and the DUP, had not been around the table? I think the answer is "No".

While I respect what the Minister is saying about the formal consultative process, can he see a way to ensure that if the NAGP engages in it, equal status might be achieved as the process proceeds and before it concludes? For it to be successful, all GPs must be on a level footing. As the Chairman said, it is about patient care at the end of the day. Let us be clear that if the NAGP is not granted equal status, the medical profession will see it as a cosy cartel between the IMO and the Department. That would lead to bad feeling and perhaps the failure of the talks. I do not want that to happen. I want a good contract to come out of this. It is a contract that will be in place for many years and it is important that we have equal status and equal negotiating rights for all organisations involved.

Next, I turn briefly to the Orkambi situation. I missed this earlier on. A meeting of team leaders is to be held. Is that HSE or departmental team leaders?