Liam Twomey (Fine Gael)

The most important aspect of the Medical Practitioners Act 2007 is the provision relating to competence assurance, as it will change the way doctors and patients interact within the Irish health service. That is what the Minister should be talking about. It is rubbish to talk about introducing competence assurance on a phased basis because it will not protect patients.

I will speak about co-location, which was raised by the Minister. We have had more than enough rows on this issue. I do not like co-location because I think it signifies the Government's failure to implement the reform of the health care service. The public health care system, which is costing the taxpayer €15 billion per year, is not working. The Government's solution is to establish a private health service alongside the public health service, to be paid for by taxpayers and private patients. Patients are not getting the benefits the Minister should be achieving. She should forget about co-location because it is a very bad policy that discriminates against patients. The Government has decided to establish separate hospitals for rich people and for paupers, and to wash its hands of the consequences.