Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

The legal issues are very real and the most problematic would relate to data protection. We need to consider the practical implications. To check if patients had been charged no more than the price displayed, an inspector would need access to the patient records, which could not be done without the patients' consent. Whereas inspectors could seek consent, practical problems would arise. Would inspectors loiter in surgeries' waiting rooms and approach patients asking them the procedures they had received and then check the price charged against the display?

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