Martin Ferris (Kerry North, Sinn Fein)

The figures for 2006 alone are the latest figures available. The Government gave away €10.6 million in tax breaks for developers of for-profit hospitals. How can the Minister justify giving this away when a smaller sum would have provided a vaccination programme to prevent cancer in women? The Minister should go back to the drawing board, scrap the tax breaks and put the money where it should be, that is, into delivery. It should not be spent on private for-profit hospitals that enrich people when there are women crying out for the vaccine. What is being done is totally immoral and I ask the Minister to reconsider it.

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