Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I agree fully on the need for new contracts. It is very important, and not just in the area of general practice. There is political buy-in. Every political party and grouping in this House, bar one, decided to sign off on the report. There is a role for Government as well. As the committee members have pointed out, while the committee has costed the proposals, it was not its role to decide how to fund those costs. There might be very different views in the different political groupings as to how we might go about doing that. The Government has to look at all of the resources available to it, the fiscal space and all these terms of which we are well aware.

As Minister for Health, I am determined to work with the Oireachtas to put in place an implementation structure to get on with progressing Sláintecare. One other point which I will discuss further in tomorrow's debate is the issue of capacity. As a general practitioner, the Deputy, Dr. Harty will know very well that even if we had the funding to provide free entitlement to all general practice services tomorrow, we might not have the capacity within general practice. The sequencing of change is very important if we are to make sure it is a sustainable model. Where there are entitlements, there must also be the capacity of health care professionals to deliver them. That view is shared by many health care professionals around the country.

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