John Kelly (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I appreciate that the Minister of State is taking this matter on behalf of another Minister of State and that this is a written response from the HSE for that Minister of State to read out. I have already pointed out the failings in some of its answers. It receives material which is then lost. It would be better to lift the moratorium and recruit staff than to bring in a foreign company to do something about which it knows nothing.

In response to the first sentence in the Minister of State's reply, 40% of the population has had medical cards since the 1980s. This did not happen overnight or since the PCRS took over. It was always 40% and on occasion more.

I thank the Minister of State for her response and I appreciate her taking this matter.