Colm Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

A series of initiatives have been introduced to ensure we get value for money from section 38 and section 39 organisations. In the 2012 budget, €3.27 billion of the total amount of €13.3 billion was paid to organisations that are not under the control of the Department or the HSE. The Minister has put in place necessary regulation and procedures to ensure full accountability for taxpayers’ money. While reform is taking place, I accept that it is a slow process. We are not going to dismantle a system Fianna Fáil worked on for 14 years, making it unworkable. We will not be able to provide proper value for money for the taxpayer overnight. The Minister is doing a good job.

Last year I published the Medical Practitioners (Amendment) Bill to ensure all medical practitioners have insurance. Cosmetic consultants are holding a conference in Dublin today and tomorrow which will be attended by a large number of consultants from the United Kingdom, where new regulation is being introduced on cosmetic surgery. We must introduce legislation to deal with the issue in this country. The Bill I proposed deals with some aspects of the matter but I recall the Minister said we would have a new Bill to deal with the entire area by the end of December. Could the Leader inquire of the Department when it is likely that the medical practitioners (amendment) Bill, which will introduce compulsory insurance for all medical practitioners, will be published? I ask the Leader to respond to me on the matter.