Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Earlier, the Taoiseach said that the Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Alex White, wanted six weeks to come back on the legislation to introduce universal primary care. The programme for Government contains a commitment that under the new general practitioner contract, the rate of remuneration of GPs will be reduced. Clearly, that is linked to promised legislation in the programme. Yesterday, a spokesperson for the Department of Health said it would take eight to ten months to prepare legislation to give effect to the promises in the programme for Government on primary care. This statement comes after two and a half years of stalling on the issue. The programme for Government indicates that the legislative basis for universal primary care will be established in a universal primary care Act. Given the conflicting messages that are emerging, when does the Taoiseach expect the universal primary care Bill to be published?

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