James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)

I can assure the Deputy that the needs of patients and patient experience are to the fore of everything we are doing. That is the key issue for us. The Deputy is correct that many people who work within the service believe we are only moving the old pieces at the top again and that this will make no difference to them. It may not be easy to see when one is down on the floor working hard dealing with emergencies day in, day out but things are going to change, including how budgets are organised, where money is going and who is making the decisions on where it is spent.

On the White Paper, it will be finished by the end of this year. The directorates around the universal health implementation group have been formed but the names have not yet been signed off on.

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