I welcome that the Government will not oppose this motion. I want to recap Sláintecare for a moment, which my party is really proud of, and the work that Róisín Shortall did and her legacy. Sláintecare was about cross-party co-operation and longitudinal vision for a transformation of our healthcare system from a two-tier to a single-tier system. This Government downgraded it from where it should have been situated in the Department of the Taoiseach to the Department of Health, where it could never fulfil its vision and ambition. Since then, the Government has cherry-picked what it wants, and not what the pubic wants or what was in the cross-party agreement. That is really important to recall in this moment when we are simply asking the Government to fulfil some of the elements of Sláintecare. We heard in the Minister of State's comments a great deal about progress, investment and reform. If that progress was real, people around this country would not be waiting for weeks for GP appointments. We would not be here pushing a motion to implement the Sláintecare programme, and we would not be the only country in Europe without universal primary healthcare. The unfortunate reality is that there is a two-tier health system here in Ireland and most people are paying on average between €50 and €90 for a GP appointment. For the 42% of people who have medical cards, healthcare is delayed, with appointments only available often after weeks or months, and that is if people can even get registered. Last week, we ran a survey to gather perspectives on people's experience in this area. I will quote two of the damning responses which demonstrate the real impact that this Government's inaction has had. One stated that trying to get an appointment is like winning the lottery, and that they are always busy. Another, which is particularly concerning, stated that in the time it took the person to secure a GP, they timed out on a prescription for medication they used to take daily to treat depression and anxiety, and they just had to learn to live without them. That is just a sample of the 600 responses we received about the inadequacy of GP services in this country. One of the key recommendations from Sláintecare was universal GP coverage by year five of implementation. This is a policy that the Government has already agreed to enact, yet eight years later, we are no closer to that goal. Our neighbours across Europe have proven that it is possible, and we have the path to get there. It is to create a new DEIS for GP scheme, develop a new GP contract, adapt to modern working needs, and expand free healthcare for children aged at least 12 years. We do not lack the solutions. We lack a proactive Government with the ambition and urgency to enact systematic change. Last year, the Minister for Health launched the strategic review, but that review is just the latest delay in a series of delays from a Government led by two former health Ministers, who seemingly want Sláintecare to collect dust while ordinary people go without care. Access to healthcare is not a policy to be debated. It is a fundamental human right to be respected. This motion is about fulfilling that right and addressing people's health needs in the community. I congratulate Deputy Pádraig Rice on his good work.

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