Michael Finucane (Fine Gael)

Yes. She promised 200,000 special doctor-only medical cards. Negotiations were delayed as a result of talks between the Department of Health and Children, the Health Service Executive and the Irish Medical Organisation. We thought recently that the matter had been resolved but the IMPACT trade union is now holding it up on behalf of its members. I cannot understand why, if the Department had difficulties with the IMO, it did not then anticipate that it would need extra staffing or foresee the necessity to hold parallel talks with the union.