Dr. Sara Burke:

There are two separate issues. One relates to where the implementation offices sits and the second to the political buy-in. I was present for lots of heated discussions privately at the Committee on the Future of Healthcare as to where that implementation office should be.

I was in a minority and favoured it being in the Department of Health, because I believe very strongly that the Department is there to drive the strategic direction of health policy in Ireland. If the Department is not driving Sláintecare, what is it doing? It is positive that the implementation office is under the Department. It is critical that there are structures in place to support that work and political buy-in. The implementation strategy has done a pretty good job on the map of the governance structures for Sláintecare and the high level committee with input from the Secretaries General of the Departments of Public Expenditure and Reform and Taoiseach, which reports to the Cabinet sub-committee, and an independent advisory group are all positive developments. That is a strength of what has happened since the work of the committee.

The question of political buy-in is a separate issue. It was evident from the Minister's presentation this morning that he is wholeheartedly behind Sláintecare. There is an issue as to how far that political buy-in goes. There are political hearts and minds to be won across the Oireachtas, and not just in government, to support for Sláintecare. The international evidence is clear on this. Unless we have political buy-in from the Taoiseach down, and particularly from the Departments of Finance and Public Expenditure and Reform, with the Minister, Deputy Paschal Donohoe having a key role, then it will be difficult for Sláintecare to happen.