Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)

I support Deputy Jan O'Sullivan, whose amendment is at the kernel of the Opposition's position on the Bill. We have indicated almost unanimously that we would accept the substantive body of the legislation for the reasons argued and on the basis of trust in respect of the advices received by the Minister, but we regard the section that seeks to facilitate the Minister's pet project, the further privatisation of our health service, as offensive. The first amendment seeks to delete the relevant references at the outset. This is the only sensible way to proceed.

There is no immediate and urgent reason to rush through the Bill by guillotine this evening at 10.30 p.m. It is incumbent on the Minister, if she really believes the rest of the legislation is as important and urgent as she suggests, to accept the amendment in this instance and allow the House to continue to address the remaining amendments on the substantive body of the Bill, as drafted.

I reiterate my objection in principle to the very notion of facilitating private, for-profit health facilities and acute hospital facilities on public land with public moneys. This is not a defensible notion and all public moneys should be vested wholly and solely in the public hospital and health delivery systems. If we are ever to confine the highly offensive two-tier system to the history books, we must grapple with the support of this and successive Governments for having a private, for-profit health care system piggybacking on the public health care system. Given the apartheid that operates between those who can afford access to health care and jump queues at will and those who are dependent on the public system and must suffer in lengthy queues even before being placed on waiting lists to see particular consultants, it is imperative that we oppose strongly the Minister's intent and the co-location scheme which, as I said, deepens the social divide and almost enshrines in our health care legislation the two-tier approach to the delivery of health care.

One should remember that we have never had a debate on the proposed co-location project of the Minister and her Government colleagues. There has never been legislation in this regard before the House for consideration yet, within a very short period, we have had foisted on us an underhand measure to facilitate co-location at two of the important hospitals in this city, St. James's Hospital and Beaumont Hospital. This is not acceptable under any circumstances. On behalf of the Sinn Féin Deputies, I fully support the Labour Party amendment, moved by Deputy Jan O'Sullivan. In the hope of a positive response from the Government benches, I appeal again for the abandonment of the project in question and ask that the Minister accept the amendment, as presented, and allow the rest of the Bill to be considered during the remainder of Committee Stage and Report Stage.

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