asked the Minister for Health if he will state (a) to whom the recently published McKinsey Report on Comhairle na nOspideál and the regional hospital boards was made available; (b) the total cost involved and whether it was paid out of public funds; (c) why it was not made available for public sale; (d) why no copies were made available to Members of the House and Members of the health boards; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - McKinsey Hospital Report.
56.
The information requested is as follows:
(a) A copy of the report was made available to each member of Comhairle na nOspidéal and the Dublin, Cork and Galway Regional Hospital Boards; other interested bodies, such as health boards, voluntary hospitals, medical teaching bodies and professional and trade union organisations, representing staffs of hospitals, were supplied with a copy of the report and such numbers of copies of a summary of the report as they required.
(b) The total cost of the study of which the report referred to by the Deputy is a part, is estimated at £45,000; the cost will be paid out of public funds.
(c) The McKinsey report in question is not a document in which there would be widespread public interest. Copies were supplied to those who are directly concerned in the subject matter of the report, and for others copies of a summary of the report have been provided. The expense involved in making the report available for public sale would not be justified in view of the limited demand.
(d) The report would be of interest only to some Members of each House and the expenses involved in providing a copy for each Member would not be justified. To facilitate Members who are interested copies were placed in the Library. Of course, Members who are also members of one of the regional hospital boards would have received a copy of the report in that capacity.
Would the Minister care to listen to some supplementaries I am going to ask on this?
There is not time for them and I am not going to——
Why does the Minister think I put down that question?
I am not going to give out any more copies than those in the Library and that is my final answer.
You only put them in the Library when I demanded it from your Department.
Well, the Deputy succeeded in getting them.
A Cheann Comhairle, with your permission, I wish to raise this matter on the Adjournment.
Now look at what the Minister has done.
Has the Minister ever questioned the philosophy of these consultants' reports? It appears to me that our whole health service is strapped with teams of consultants.
That would take me an hour to talk about. What does the Deputy think he is doing, asking me a question like that with 400 questions to answer? It is absolute nonsense.
Would the Minister agree that there appears to be a feeling in his Department that we must examine and have a survey on each problem?
(Interruptions.)
I am calling Question No. 57.
We do examine and we will go on examining things.
Question No. 57.
(Interruptions.)