James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)

There are certain elements of the Dutch system that we like, but there are other elements that we do not like. We have looked at the system in Holland in terms of the underpinning of a universal health insurance system. We have looked at the system in Denmark when it comes to having a patient safety authority. We have looked at the system in the United Kingdom when it comes to the hospital model trusts and in the north of Ireland in regard to the waiting list initiative. We are taking what we believe is the best from these systems for use in ours.

The Senator referred to diabetes. An initiative is on the way which, contingent on the availability of funding, we hope to roll out. Diabetes is one of the chronic diseases that must be addressed as a matter of urgency and tackling it is a top priority for us. However, I am not a fan of piecemeal contract negotiations. I want the new contract for general practitioners to be all-embracing and introduced in one fell swoop. I do not want to have to ask what people want to look after patients with diabetes, hypertension and so on. We are not going to go there.

If I have not answered any Senator's questions, I apologise.