Brendan Ryan (Labour)

I have no problems with the amendments as drafted. I am glad, however, that the registration board or the council may ignore the Competition Authority if they see fit because some of the more daft utterances from the Competition Authority from time to time would make one very nervous. It believes competition would give us a better health service and appears to be oblivious to the fact that the most competitive health service market in the world is also the most expensive and the least effective in terms of life expectancy and mortality, namely, the United States. The Competition Authority is an important body and it serves a purpose but I would not like it to have a veto over issues to do with ethics, quality of care and so on, which, given its belief in its own internal wisdom, it would be liable to do. I welcome the amendments as drafted.