Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As time is short, I will make just two points. The first is that I have worked with Deputy Harris around the Cabinet table for a number of years now. In many ways, he has the most difficult job in government. I have seen him fight for patients and those who need the health service to work. I have seen him deliver at budget time. Ireland is now spending more on healthcare than ever before. I have seen him bring people together on one of the most divisive political issues we have ever had to face and successfully pass a referendum proposal. I have seen him bring people together around an alcohol Bill and achieve the necessary compromises to get a majority in the House. I have seen him manage scandals with compassion, professionalism and unbelievable energy and dedication. I have seen the victims of those scandals praise him for it and wish him well in his future political career. I have seen him build cross-party support and consensus around the kind of future health reform we need in the context of Sláintecare. I have seen an extraordinary commitment from him as a politician and Minister for Health to making that happen. When I see political leaders like Deputy Howlin refer to Deputy Harris a week ago on radio as a capable and competent Minister only to come to the House today to vote against him, it reminds me of what party politics is sometimes about.

I refer secondly to the sponsors of the motion who are behaving true to form. Sinn Féin is about division. It is about targeting individuals for political ends, whether it involves the HSE, PSNI, gardaí, Ministers or others in the House.

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