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

I am disappointed with those comments. This has been a civil debate, as it was yesterday. Plenty of us could have severely criticised the Minister for coming in and essentially saying "trust me". I am sorry but this is what parliamentary scrutiny is about. It is about digging down into the detail of a proposal and seeking answers. Until last Tuesday the Government was quite happy to nod through this proposal. It was only because of people such as Dr. Boylan, Mr. McGarr and many other people who have serious concerns about the proposal and general public outcry that the Government was forced into publishing the legal documents. We still do not have them all. We still do not have the critical document in respect of the application to the Vatican. This is essential. I suggest members would be remiss in their responsibilities as public representatives if they did not insist on us getting this documentation.

We like to operate on the basis of evidence and fact. We can only establish the facts when we have the legal documentation. We need adequate time to consider it. Essentially, the Minister agreed with this today. We asked him to request additional time from the Cabinet next Tuesday so we could properly interrogate all of the significant issues that we are all grappling with. This project will cost at least €800 million. We know very little about the detail of it. Everybody must admit there is huge ambiguity about what the legal documents entail and what they will mean for the future.

None of this proposal is in line with Sláintecare. A significant element of this is about the promotion of private healthcare, and not only private healthcare but private Catholic healthcare. There are ample examples of what is happening in this country and people should open their eyes. Publicly funded property in education and health and the trust funds-----