Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)

The Sinn Féin Deputies are not prepared to support the guillotine in this case or indeed the passage of the health amendment Bill. The Bill seeks to abolish democratic accountability in the delivery of health services. It proposes to abolish health boards in their current form and to place all the power in the hands of the CEOs and, indeed, the Minister for Health and Children, who cannot be divorced from that. An important point that needs to be emphasised in this regard is that there is no time limit on this. The Minister has stated that "it is indicated", "it is hoped for" and "it is intended to", but there is no definitive time lapse as regards the CEOs' hold. The date 31 December this year is signalled, but nothing the Minister has said guarantees that this period of time is set in stone — far from it. There is real concern as to how long after that date the CEOs will continue to exercise such major powers. We strongly object to this. In addition, we have yet to see the roll-out of the alternative structures because the health Bill——

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