James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I support the amendment. I am familiar with the chiropractors' situation, in particular, and have visited some of the chiropractors' surgeries and have seen the equipment and the investment they have made in that equipment and in training and upskilling themselves to use those machines. It is a significant outlay for their practices. I suppose there is a dichotomy in that there is a divergence between the Department of Health and the Minister's Department. To be fair, the Minister's Department has been quite helpful in engaging on this and trying to make it work. As Deputy Stanley said, it may be dealt with in the statutory instrument coming through from the Department of Health. There needs to be a joined-up approach between the two Departments. Maybe we should get the Department of Health on the same wavelength as the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment.

Whatever way it is worked out, it seems unfair to have a set of practitioners who have access to, and have invested in, equipment and who have been using it for many years as part of the service to their patients but to have a sort of drop dead approach where overnight, they are not allowed to use it anymore. This needs to be looked at. We are happy to take advice or to engage in consultation with the officials in terms of what is the best way to tackle this. The Department of Health has a role to play as well, but it is important that something is worked out to cater for that block of people.