Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Yes, I have but I need to nuance it for one intended reason, namely, the last thing we need is another static document. The last thing doctors want is for a contract to be agreed and for that to be the end of it the discussion for another four decades, which is what happened the last time with a few bits added on as we go along. That will not serve the modern needs of the health service or of Sláintecare either. I expect by the end of this year to have a number of significant developments with regard to GP care as part of the negotiation but I also genuinely expect this will be an evolving process and there will be more to build on as we set about implementing a ten-year plan for the health service.

As for the hospital group boards, as I have said consistently since my appointment, I did not move ahead with putting them on a statutory basis because I thought it would have been extraordinarily contradictory to ask the Oireachtas on a cross-party basis to come up with a ten-year plan and, while it was at it, to legislate for a structure that may or may not be aligned with what was set out in the ten-year consensus. We have been proven collectively right in that regard because while the ten-year plan has regional structures, they do not align with the hospital group boards. As part of my consideration on how to implement Sláintecare I will have to decide whether we try to pursue the statutory element of hospital group boards as an interim measure or whether we actually wait and go ahead with the proposed structures outlined in Sláintecare.