Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

In respect of the programme for Government and the implementation of Sláintecare, I was somewhat taken aback by the Taoiseach's comment that he has read the de Buitléir report on a key recommendation of Sláintecare, which relates to the disentanglement of private care from public care. The fact that it has been decided to go ahead with a private suite in the national children's hospital means that the recommendation is to a large extent dead and buried before it starts. The de Buitléir report belongs to the House because Sláintecare was a product of the House, produced by all parties on an Oireachtas committee. The de Buitléir report is on one of the committee's recommendations. There is no case for the Government to withhold that. That needs to be published this week. It does not have to go before Cabinet. It can go before it in the ordinary way but given that Sláintecare is a product of the House, that report in my view is a product of the House and it should be published. I could take a cynical view and suggest that maybe it will not be published until the Dáil is up because maybe there are some unpalatable proposals in it and the reality of whatever commitment the Government has made to do anything about it.

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