Thomas Byrne (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Today the country was greeted with the news of yet another broken promise by Fine Gael and the Labour Party. This was not just a pre-election promise but one that was made repeatedly in official statements from Ministers and the Government. That promise was on progressing the introduction of free GP care. The Government made a specific commitment to introduce free GP care for those on the long-term illness scheme. Lest we forget, people on the long-term illness scheme have conditions like diabetes, haemophilia, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, cystic fibrosis, multiple sclerosis, spina bifida, muscular dystrophy, hydrocephalus and leukemia or are victims of Thalidomide. These people, who were promised that they would be included in the initial phase of free GP care, were landed with the bombshell that nothing was going to be done for them. Had they googled the website of the Labour Party any time since just before the general election they would have found multiple announcements on this subject. Every couple of months announcements were made on the issue by Ministers and repeated by Deputies and local representatives in their constituencies. It is a shame that this has happened. It is not right. The two key pillars of the Government's plan to develop the health service, which it gave itself ten years to progress even though we are not even ten years into the HSE, were universal health insurance and free GP care for all. They were interlinked. It appears that the entire edifice of the Government's health policies is collapsing.

I propose an amendment to the Order of Business to urgently ask the Minister for Health to come into the Seanad to debate the issue of free GP care, particularly for those with long-term illnesses but also for the population at large. As recently as the by-election in County Meath this issue featured on the Government parties' leaflets. One constituent told me he did not believe Government canvassers when they raised the subject on the doors. We need an urgent debate to provide clarity on this issue.