Health (General Practitioner Service and Alteration of Criteria for Eligibility) Bill 2020: Second Stage
Seanad Éireann — 2020-07-24
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Jerry Buttimer (FG), Labour Panel

I say that because scaffolds need to be put in place to support our health system and I do not know that we can do it from here. I know the Dáil and the Seanad are the people's assembly but as a former member of the Constitutional Convention, I ask the Minister to consider taking a citizens' assembly approach to universal healthcare because we need more GPs.
Senator Kyne referenced the out-of-hours service in Galway. The Minister needs to look at SouthDoc, in Cork, and we need to ensure that we continue the out-of-hours service. The principle of universal healthcare is one all of us subscribe to and want. I am concerned that, in terms of Sláintecare, we will not get the buy-in. It is about capacity, resourcing, costings and timelines. I will not be parochial but I will talk to the Minister again about the need for the new hospital in Cork. I wish him every success.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2020-07-24/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:48:28+00:00
Sitting date: 2020-07-24