Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Shortall and acknowledge that it was she who called for me to publish the Vision for Change document. We ran the risk of setting up ad hocstructures, special committees and the like, and the Deputy counselled against that. Subject to Government approval today or tomorrow, we will publish that document next week and the Minister of State, Jim Daly, will engage with stakeholders and advocacy groups in advance of publication. The Deputy is right that the next big challenge will be implementation. I presume that, at some point, some of this will fall to a new Government.

I think at least by having it published before a new Government takes office everyone can form that Government with their eyes wide open in terms of the work that needs to be done in that regard.

I thank the Deputy for making the points on the Irish Medical Organisation, IMO. I heard much of what it had to say at the committee this week. I am due to meet it next week. I will make a couple of observations. I share the view regarding public health specialists. Seeking recognition has been a long and arduous road for them. That will now fall to a new Government and is something that should be acted upon quickly. I do not think it should be pushed into an elongated process. They have been heroes in this regard and we have seen the benefit of them ten times over. We could have done with an awful lot more of them. Had things been even worse in our country in terms of a surge we would have needed even more of them. There is a lesson to be learned.

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