Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

That might be a fine speech but it does not tally with the reality. The Government and I have taken a number of actions to reform the health service, and to try to turn around what is a major tanker and get it to a place where we can reform it. We supported the establishment of an all-party committee and people on the Government benches worked extremely hard to come up with a cross-party plan as well. That plan is not just owned by Deputies on the other side of the House. We are determined to deliver it. I will bring a Sláintecare implementation plan to Government before the summer recess, but I will bring one can be implemented and that addresses the challenges and does not duck the hard questions about how we fund these measures and how we make sure we get the sequencing correct. If we implemented Sláintecare in the order it is in today, I guarantee the Deputy's GP colleagues would not be happy about the immediate rush to universal free-for-all without addressing the capacity issues. I have had to work hard to put a structure and a sequence on the Sláintecare report in order that that it can be implemented, which is recognised by the Deputy's colleagues in the NAGP and the IMO.

I have a direct responsibility to make sure we train enough healthcare professionals. We are training more nurses than ever before and we are dramatically increasing the number of training places. However, I take the point. The Deputy must not misrepresent me, accidentally or otherwise. I accept there is a challenge in respect of general practice. We will resolve it in a negotiation in which both sides have ask. That is under way.

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