Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)

While I acknowledge that the Tánaiste clearly envisages that the legislation will address the important issue of ensuring that all medical practitioners are properly qualified and trained, would she not also accept that we can have no dependence on whistleblowing alone in terms of drawing public and wider attention to malpractice or irregularities in terms of service delivery in any of the disciplines? The legislation must contain a guarantee of regular monitoring and ongoing assessment.

Will the Tánaiste give an indication of what is intended in the medical practitioners Bill in that regard because, ultimately, it is the only real safety net and the one that can instil the greatest confidence in the widest number of people. The confidence of many people has been greatly diminished and in some cases shattered by the experiences of the Neary case and others in recent years. What can the Tánaiste tell us about that and can she give us an indication of when exactly the medical practitioners Bill will come before us? If she is in a position to do so, will the Tánaiste release the heads of the Bill which would be of assistance to Opposition Members in assessing exactly what she intends?

See this speech in context