Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Minister seems to be confused because we are not casting aspersions on his integrity in respect of whether there was a cosy deal done with Mr. Murphy. The point of the exercise is to get to the bottom of why names of towns, including Ballaghaderreen and Kilkenny and two locations in the Minister's constituency, appeared on a list although they were not on that list before that.

We are discussing primary care centres that are to deliver health care in a community setting. There was a list. That the Minister is clutching to the former Minister for Health and Children's approval as a safety net is a bit rich because that list included a further 198 towns throughout the country and was not prioritised. The Minister has claimed that he picked from a 2007 list, but he could have picked a further 198 as well.

The then Minister of State, Deputy Shortall, used a deprivation index to decide on the priority listing of health centres throughout the country. Some 20 were selected. The logical conclusion would be to take the next 15 if one wanted to increase the number, but the Minister decided to use his own criteria. A couple of questions must be asked. The Minister stated that he consulted widely. The Taoiseach told the House that the Minister consulted all Cabinet colleagues. It now transpires that the Minister only consulted a number of Cabinet colleagues. Equally, he was to have discussed the issue with senior officials in the HSE and the Department of Health, yet the Department's Secretary General stated that he could not confirm whether he had seen the final list.

There are differences between what the Minister is telling the House and what actually happened. As to the consultation with many Cabinet colleagues, we have found out that he only consulted one or two. This underlines the fact that he made these decisions off his own bat without any regard to criteria other than those that would suit the development of the centres in Swords and Balbriggan in his constituency.

To clarify regarding the site that Mr. Murphy owns, it was selected during the Minister's tenure and not before, which was previously stated. I am not saying that there was anything untoward or corrupt in terms of transactions, but some communities have materially benefited over others because the Minister was able to decide to locate the centres in his constituency. The people of Dundalk fell off the list, yet they had been No. 21. Are they less deserving than the people of Swords or Balbriggan based on the deprivation index and the criteria used to prioritise sites?

I cannot understand how the Minister can so glibly pass this matter by. A Minister of State resigned because of it. It is unheard of for a Minister of State to resign because of issues with a senior Minister-----

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