Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The framework document commits the Department of Health, and therefore the HSE, to engaging on GP contracts with the IMO. Long before my arrival, the Department of Health had a long-established history of negotiating with the trade union. Senator Swanick referred to the peace process in Northern Ireland. I hope we do not need a peace process for GP organisations here. Some GPs have decided to set up another organisation. It is a fine organisation with fine members. Many of them whom I know and have met wish to play a constructive role. I would like to have one GP organisation in order that we could get on with it, but that is not the situation. I am doing my best to try to create a hybrid model that enables both organisations to have a voice in the process. I ask both organisations to recognise that this has not been the position previously. It was not the position regarding free GP care for children under six years of age and it was not the position on the roll-out of the vaccination programme to new babies. This is a new role for the NAGP. Senator Swanick asked about future engagement, future roles and it not being a static document. Let us see where the process brings us. Let us try to get results from this process and see if that can be built on into the future.

Regarding the national maternity strategy, masterships and so forth, I had a good meeting with Professor Kenny and her colleagues in Cork University Maternity Hospital, CUMH, which I mentioned earlier. They have strong views on the importance of clinical autonomy, ring-fenced budgets and so forth. I have asked Professor John Higgins of the South-South West hospital group, and Mr. Kilian McGrane, the new director of the national women and infants health programme, to report back to me on the range of issues that were brought up at that meeting. The national maternity strategy refers to such structures, including masterships, as evolving over time and says that no single model fits all, but legitimate issues are being highlighted by Professor Kenny and her colleagues.

My final point relates to governance. It is fair to say that we must bring a degree of certainty to the governance structures relating to the HSE, the Department and the Minister. It is not fair on any of that triumvirate so far. We had a situation where the HSE had a board. That board was abolished with a view to the HSE being abolished. The HSE is still functioning but there is no board. I hope that the Committee on the Future of Healthcare will put this issue to rest once and for all. People working extraordinarily hard in our health service day and night have a right to certainty about their future structure and how they will continue to make a contribution to the positive development of the health service. If the Committee on the Future of Healthcare reports in April, which is the deadline, then by the summer we will begin to have a sense of the direction of travel in terms of answering the important question the Chairman raised regarding governance, accountability, roles and responsibilities. We would all serve the development of our health service well if we could answer that question by the summer.