Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)

I am disappointed with the response of the Minister of State. I do not know if he has expressed his own view or if he is simply trundling out the text offered. As a member of the medical profession, Deputy Twomey has put the case well. That demonstrates clearly that not only I, as member of the public, and he, as a member of the medical profession, but a great many others believe that we should ensure full transparency and openness. That requires access to the register in all these cases. It is imperative.

We had an earlier discussion regarding the listed professions under the terms of this legislation. There are people established in different areas of medical practice, not within the listed professions but among others to which I have alluded, in whose case a plaque on a wall is all it amounts to. There is no way in which the public can properly establish with ease the qualifications and suitability for practice of any person presenting. We have echoes of these difficulties with regard to the qualifications of people currently being addressed in the media. In this situation, a register should be open and a straightforward argument for such access deserves support. I cannot understand the rejection of the proposition by the Minister of State and I ask for his reconsideration.

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