Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

He is the person who appointed the head of a private consultancy firm that advocates the privatisation of health services as chairman of a public health body. Therefore, I do not believe the Taoiseach's answer is adequate, nor do I believe the answer on the missing files is adequate. The Ombudsman has said that what happened to the files is something his office has not been able to establish. All he knows is that they are no longer available. He has stated his office cannot cast any light on where the files are and what happened to them and that they are simply no longer available. His office does not know when, why or how they went missing.

The change in the Government's attitude in the days before the election was indicative of contrition. Labour Party and Fine Gael Ministers talked about how they were getting it in the neck over how the Government was not dealing with the issue of medical cards properly. That was on 23 May, a long time ago. Despite this, the Taoiseach is not aware that the very files in which some of the decisions are supposed to have been recorded have gone missing. This is not good enough. Every Member of the Oireachtas knows how individuals, including children with unchangeable medical conditions and children with terminal illnesses, have had their medical cards taken from them. What happened to the contrition shown on 21 and 22 May? What we now have is a Government that is moving from one calamity to another. I note that the Taoiseach was not able to give me an adequate answer in this Chamber on either of my questions, one being on the appointment of the head of a private health consultancy as chairman of a public health body and the other being on medical cards.

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