Ulick Burke (Fine Gael)

I add my voice to the calls for the Minister for Health and Children to come to the House to explain health policy in general. The simplistic blame game that is going on at present is not being played by the Opposition. I want Members to try to reconcile three statements. The first was made by the Taoiseach when he said in early December that legislation he was bringing forward would have no retrospective effect. He went on to say that it was never the case that legislation had a retrospective element, but we saw what happened a few days later. On 16 December the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children said that it was clearly beyond the Government's financial and administrative ability to repay all the charges accumulated since 1976 and gave a token €2,000, which she said would be paid before Christmas, to the many people on whom these illegal charges had been imposed. The former Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Martin, said on the same occasion in the Dáil that the charges were accepted policy and that no one had said anything about it for 50 years.

The Taoiseach stated the legislation would not have a retrospective effect. The Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children introduced legislation that incorporated an element of retrospection, and for that reason the President referred it to the Supreme Court. Certain people want to spread the blame. The Minister said the people within her Department are to blame.