Sean Barrett (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I appreciate what the Minister says but why is the Department looking for this? Why does it want to get out of a commitment on the grounds that it does not consider it practicable? I do not know what the difficulties are. I am worried about the way the smoking Bill disappeared and the practice of uninsured medicine Bill disappeared. The Department has serious cost overruns and it needs to improve its image. I would not like to give the Department any loophole that it can only give a person a choice of medical doctor "insofar as it is considered practicable". This is not something I want to see in the law because it could be availed of to deny people a service. It comes on top of a number of issues I have raised and I am not willing to give the HSE that sort of leeway.