Thomas Byrne (Fianna Fail)

I also support the Bill and along with many doctors in my constituency I urge its passage as soon as possible. Given that we have rushed legislation on many items, I wonder why this is not being rushed. With so much apparent unanimity we could probably have completed Committee and Remaining Stages today to allow the Minister to enact it with his order. As Senator Healy Eames said, the Bill arises from the EU-IMF agreement, but it was contained in the previous Government's national recovery plan which the IMF and EU agreed to bankroll. This was a long-standing policy that Fianna Fáil wanted to introduce and it needs to be enacted as soon as possible.

I seek clarity. Under the provisions of the Bill is the HSE obliged to hand out a contract or is it just entitled to hand out a contract? Are all GPs who open a practice entitled to get a contract or is it just that the HSE is entitled to give them a contract?

As the Minister is in the Chamber, it would be remiss of me not to mention that today is the first anniversary of a promise Fine Gael gave on the regional hospital in the north east. The five candidates, four of whom are now Deputies, announced to the local newspaper that along with the Minister they had met investors who were prepared to build a regional hospital for the north east and that it would be completed within five years. The public private partnership model had been agreed and Fine Gael had pledged the money. The Minister should not shake his head because this was reported in The Meath Chronicle exactly a year ago with his name attached to it.