Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

There are many aspects to the scandal of the national children's hospital and the shocking financial mismanagement by this Government of this project, which is going to cost the people of this country €3 billion. As if that is not bad enough, I am not exaggerating when I say that when I tell people there is going to be a private section to the national children's hospital, they do not believe me - they do not actually believe it. They are absolutely scandalised by the thought that, having paid for this hospital, there will be two tiers of child healthcare. It is outrageous, especially from a Government that says it is against two-tier healthcare, that we are building a state-of-the-art hospital where two-tier healthcare for children is going to be institutionalised.

When I have asked about this, I have been told it is because the consultants' contracts are public-private contracts. I have a solution to this for the Taoiseach. Every paediatrician in the country is going to want to work in the national children's hospital. If they are not in there, to be honest, they are not at the races. Therefore, the Taoiseach has a simple opportunity to resolve this and to remove the two tiers in the hospital so it is single-tier, universal healthcare for our children. He should tell any paediatrician or consultant who wishes to work there that they will only work in that hospital on a public-only contract, which, by the way, is the only sort of contract the State should be giving out for consultants, in my opinion. Will the Taoiseach do that and at least eliminate this scandal in regard to the national children's hospital? It really is a shocker. There are still a lot of people who do not know this but when they hear it, they are utterly disgusted.

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