David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

It would seem then that what we have today is a situation where Laura Magahy, Tom Keane, Anthony O'Connor, Roísín Molloy and Liam Doran are all wrong. Yet what we are hearing from the Minister and from Mr. Watt, and I said this earlier, is that there is nothing to see here in respect of the fundamental concerns expressed by the people to whom I have referred.

I turn to one element of the reforms, universal GP care. This will be relevant to Mr. Watt as well because I am sure that he oversees the responses to parliamentary questions. I submitted a parliamentary question seeking information on the cost of this reform and how it will be done. The response stated: "Such a calculation would require a complex and detailed modelling exercise to account for a range of demographic changes, future projections of service demands and variation in the number of GPs and allowances that could be paid". It was also stated that "It is not possible to give an estimate of the cost of extending GP care". I will put myself in the Minister's position and ask how anyone can reasonably provide answers here if that modelling has not been done. How can the Minister give us any confidence that we are going to deliver universal GP care in the timeframe that was agreed? How can the delivery of universal GP access be guaranteed if the Department has not done the modelling in respect of demographic changes, the increase in demand which might arise as a consequence and the additional number of GPs that will be needed? How is that telling me that the Department and the HSE are serious about the provision of universal GP care? I ask that question in the context of being the leading Opposition spokesperson on health and not even being able to get a cost and an estimated timeframe concerning how long it would take to do that because, as the answer to my parliamentary question stated, the requisite modelling has not been done.