Denis Landy (Labour) | Oireachtas source

Some people said the health forums were a useless waste of time, yet the same people are at the meetings and are first to go to the media with their points after such meetings. We must therefore regard in a jaundiced way what this amendment is supposed to mean. If we were to insert these three categories to the exclusion of everybody else, we would be criticised for doing so and would be asked about various other groupings.

The Minister's approach is to put this in primary legislation to allow an opportunity for a discussion of this nature, in order to take these points seriously. He will make his decision afterwards. If the Minister were to do that, he would not gain a lot from the discussion so far. That is because people said they support the amendment, while the same people said another quango should not be established. Others said that people appointed could not afford to be on it, without any outline of what the regulation would entail. While I do not envy the Minister's task, this is a great opportunity for him to answer all the naysayers when he sets out the regulations for this part of the legislation in the coming weeks.