Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

On behalf of Sinn Féin, I welcome this Bill. It is a very long overdue and necessary development to improve the delivery of health services. The allocation of an individual number or unique identifier to each individual for the purpose of health services has been talked about for a very long time. At least now we are finally seeing progress, which is welcome.

It is a pity this development is not coming in the context of real and comprehensive overall reform of our health services, but the fact is this Government's health reform programme - the Minister of State may not recognise or accept what I am about to say - now appears to be in a shambles. The past fortnight has been dominated by the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission, GSOC, scandal, with the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Shatter, at its epicentre. This has diverted attention from a situation that is also extremely serious and in which two Ministers are embroiled. The Minister for Health, Deputy Reilly, and the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Howlin, are at loggerheads in respect of the draft White Paper on universal health insurance. Like the GSOC scandal, leaks have played a central role in this row. In this case, we have two Ministers leaking and spinning against each other. It has become a war of leaks and spin. We have the extraordinary sight of one Minister, the Minister of State's party colleague, Deputy Howlin, accusing another Minister, Deputy Reilly, of proposing a plan that would pose a risk to the State's financial stability.

Universal health insurance is supposed to be a cornerstone of this Government's policy and the White Paper was promised early in its term. The last promised publication date was 2013, but we still have not seen it. I repeat: we still have not seen it. The contents of the White Paper have been extensively leaked to sections of the media while Oireachtas Members and the public at large are left in the dark, all but for the little snippets that make their way into, by and large, the pages of the print media. Our health services are in crisis and plans for their future must be fully and openly debated, not the subject of a dog fight between rival Ministers.

The Fine Gael-Labour Party coalition's concept of universal health insurance based on competing private health insurance companies is one that we in Sinn Féin have criticised as fundamentally flawed. We have also criticised the lack of detail about the coalition's plan and have been vindicated in that respect. I am surprised, though perhaps after three years of this coalition I should not be. It still puzzles me that the Labour Party would be a party to a proposal to develop universal health care based on, as I have said, competing private health insurance companies. I find it bizarre and I do not believe that all the party's number are enthusiasts for it. They could not be.

Arising from this row that I have described, we had the speculation last week on the part of the Minister of State, Deputy White's good self that the promised free general practitioner, GP, care for all would not be free at all, in that a fee might apply. I believe the Minister of State is sincere in his wish to see free GP care introduced, but his comments raise the question, and perhaps he would like to take the opportunity in responding at the end of Second Stage to clarify-----

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