John Brassil (Kerry, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I might go back a step. In reply to a parliamentary question from Deputy Donnelly during the summer, it emerged that if one compares the final budget spend for 2018 in primary care with the budget spend projection for 2019, one comes up with a reduction of €7 million. If one breaks it down into the community healthcare organisations, CHOs, one can see that there is a significant reduction in CHOs 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8 and 9. I have those figures and will give them to the Minister. They are factual. How can we roll out improved services if the spend of 2019 in every CHO bar two is less? It does not match up.

The Minister referred to the GP contract and the progress there. Stating my obvious conflict of interest in this area, I note that the Minister committed to rolling out a new contract for pharmacists and resolving the financial emergency measures in the public interest, FEMPI, by 2020. I ask him to hold to that commitment.

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