David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Whether they were acting in good faith is a matter of opinion but established processes were certainly not followed. To me, that is not good faith and that must be accepted.

I will move on to another important issue. In the last budget, in the Minister's opening statement and in the budget booklet, the roll-out of free GP visits to an expected further 400,000 people was rightly announced. I commended it. The Minister stated it would be delivered from 1 April 2023. That was the date the Minister set. I did not set that date. However, 1 April has come and gone. At the time, I sought a breakdown of costs and it never came. A number of measures were lumped into one additional funding allocation of €107.1 million for hospital charges - which we know have been abolished - GP visit cards, contraception, and fertility treatment, including IVF. We have not had any progress on many of these issues although funding was allocated. How much was allocated for free GP-visit cards? As we are dealing with the Estimates we need to get the details. Specifically, how much was allocated to funding GP-visit cards? How much was allocated to additional capacity and supports for GPs? How much was allocated to fertility treatment? Why has the date 1 April come and gone with it not being delivered? The Minister and his Government have announced the extension of free GP care to six- and seven-year-olds three or four times at this point and they are still waiting. It is beyond a joke. Those who would have been entitled to it have gone past the age of entitlement since it was announced. When will we see it delivered? Will the Minister give the committee any timeframe today given that he has missed his deadline of 1 April, the target he set? Will he give the committee any indication of when that proposal will be delivered and give us the breakdown of costs?