Committee Reports > List of Committees > Dáil > 1963 > Select Committee on the Health Services > Interim Report No. 02 - Health Services

SECOND INTERIM REPORT

1. The Select Committee has made further progress in the matters referred to it and has agreed to the following second interim report.

2. The Select Committee has held twenty-four meetings. In accordance with a programme of work adopted on 18th October, 1962, it has, since then, devoted itself to consideration of the General Medical Services. Apart from preliminary discussions on this service, it has heard oral evidence from eleven of the bodies and individuals who made submissions to it in relation to this service and has made arrangements to hear others. For this purpose the Committee’s normal practice has been, for some time, to meet on one day every week, and on some of those days, to hold two meetings.

3. Verbatim reports of the proceedings at the meetings of the Select Committee since 18th October, 1962 have been prepared for the information of the members of the Committee. These reports, which will include the evidence heard by the Committee, will be submitted to Dáil Éireann in due course with the Committee’s final report. Because of practical difficulties in the editing and printing of these reports, it has not been possible for the Committee to arrange that the report of the meeting or meetings held in any one week be available to its members before the following week’s meeting. This has resulted in considerable inconvenience to the members, as the availability of the printed record of the previous meeting, at which oral evidence had been given, would obviously be of considerable assistance in the framing of questions when witnesses are being examined subsequently. The Committee is advised that, because of the need to give priority to the publication of the reports of the debates of Dáil Éireann and Seanad Éireann, it is not practicable to speed up the printing of the reports of its proceedings. Therefore, the Committee has reluctantly come to the conclusion that it cannot, with satisfactory results, continue to hold meetings each week. As a consequence, it proposes, in future, to meet once a fortnight so that the verbatim report of each day’s meeting or meetings will be available to the members before the next meeting.

4. There is the further problem that, because of the complexity of the matters referred to it, and the necessity for the examination, in detail, of the volume of written submissions made to it, the Select Committee has not found it possible to proceed with its work at a rate which would enable it to make a final report before the date appointed by Dáil Éireann.

5. The hearing of evidence on the General Medical Services by the Select Committee is well advanced. Evidence has still to be heard, however, on the other health services. A number of meetings will also be necessary to enable the Committee to debate and assess the evidence submitted and then to prepare its report. The Committee is satisfied that it would not find it practicable to prepare and submit to Dáil Éireann, before the 31st March, 1963, a comprehensive and fully-considered report. The Committee requests Dáil Éireann, therefore, to remove the obligation on it to report by that date and to require instead that the report of the Committee should be submitted as soon as can be arranged.

(Signed) MICHAEL CARTY,

Chairman.

27th February, 1963.