Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I will quote Professor Higgins who has described this as the need for "future-proofing". The Taoiseach is saying something else. The Minister is saying something else. It is easy to list the services that will be provided and to qualify that by saying, "but not limited to", which would future-proof the provision of services.

We are told that the HSE insisted on including this phrase in all of the legal documentation. It is a problematic phrase and the likelihood is it will be challenged in court on several occasions over the next 300 years. In view of that, is the Minister prepared to revisit that issue? Is the HSE prepared to withdraw its insistence on the inclusion of that and to come up with a phrase that will be absolutely crystal clear in relation to the services that will be provided? There are many legal people, and many medics as well, who are seriously concerned about that phrase. Is the Minister prepared to contemplate the removal of that phrase and replacing it with an agreed form of words?