Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions
Dail Éireann — 2023-10-19
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Micheál Martin (FF), Cork South-Central

These are issues the Deputy would raise with me if it applied to a different jurisdiction. We need a more open and honest debate about these things. There seem to be certain countries we cannot talk about at all. It is dressed up in idyllic terms. I have been to Cuba and they have a strong primary care system. However, the level of State control over individuals and over people is not something we in this democracy cherish or would endorse. The day that governments get to export their GPs - try that with the Irish Medical Organisation, IMO, someday here, say "lads, actually we are going to export you now." That is what has happened in Cuba for 50 years. When the Soviet Union collapsed, there was an increase in export of GPs from Cuba to get oil back in.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2023-10-19/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:52:19+00:00
Sitting date: 2023-10-19