FF TD quits party over medical card issue

[BodyofEvidence]

Why stop with the medics? Let's make everyone an employee of the State.

No more griping from the private sector. No private sector.

And to round it off, get gagging clauses into all our contracts - no more griping from the public sector.

Industrial peace and magic.

Brilliant.

Oh no, wait.

Got a better solution here?

[He3]

Got a better solution here?

Yes - applied common sense.

Competitionism has gone mad if the law prevents government from negotiating with representative bodies.

Fix the law.

[michael1965]

Its another example of Harney's fetish (shudder......) for competition right or wrong. By not making th eIHCA and IMO designated bodies the idea was to "encourage" competition. Right, like people go "hmm...ringworm. Well, lets get some quotes on that from three GP's". I guess she has never heard of "the family doctor" with all its freight of meaning. By insisting in law that doctors are independet contractors, like sweetshops, they CANNOT engage in cartels.
Now, two ways out of this.
A) The CA can decide (has anybody asked them) that under 4(5) of CA 2002 the agreements promote technical or economic progress OR
B) the government move to ....socialised medicine!

Note : im not a lawer, but have some interest in this area, so am open to correction

Well done Anti-Midas Harney

Well, as it happens I agree with her on the idea of promoting competition. GPs should be required to publish conspicuously, what their consultation fee is. I think they have managed to avoid this so far, if Im not mistaken by claiming there is no such thing as a standard consultation fee (oddly, I've never been charged anything other than a standard fee). So, I think GPs should be subjuect to competition law.

But, I still don't see how this should affect the ability of the HSE to negotiate a fixed price among all contracting GPs, for specific classes of patient. Not all GPs have to sign up to the scheme. I'm not a lawyer either, so I can't say whether this is against the letter of the law, but it strikes me as only a minor tweak, to fix it, if that is the case.

[He3]

Thanks spidermom for that link.

Over the years the government's ideologues have allowed banks and insurance companies to cast off all effective restraint,

- and they have brought the ideology of 'competitionism' to such a ludicrous pitch that now the government may not even be permitted to negotiate with the doctors' representative body, when they need to do just that to save their skins.

RTÉ News: Concerns raised over Govt talks with IMO

The justice is poetic.

AGREED< the irony of this is just delicious!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dr Stan Wong of the one and only Competition Authority is on 6.01 telling the government what the law the government wrote actually means.

Where would they be without the CA?

What other laws do our lawmakers not understand?

.

[wysiwyg]

Yes - applied common sense.

Competitionism has gone mad if the law prevents government from negotiating with representative bodies.

Fix the law.

It is kind of funny though.. the Government voted in this law because they were accusing the IMO of screwing them.. now they are prevented from begging for the IMO's help because of it

Double jeopordy

[He3]

Dr Wong is so yesterday.

Dr Wong is Director of Monopolies at the Competition Authority. Yesterday he was on Morning Ireland trying to help the notoriously tough pupil Seán O'Rourke understand why the Government could negotiate, but the IMO could not negotiate. He said the problem was at the other side of the table.

Seán was looking hard at the other side of the table but still could not see the nature of the problem. So he gave up.

Today the one and only Competition Authority sent out a different man into the Morning Ireland trenches. He is called a Director of Advocacy. His name is Declan Purcell.

Declan says it will be ok. All you need to get around the Competition Act problem is to set up a process that is not a negotiation. The government has to have the last word. And the IMO cannot say Yes on behalf of its members, the doctors of Ireland all have to say Yes without ever talking to each other.

Tune in to Morning Ireland tomorrow for the latest from the very expensive and truly unique Competition Authority.

PS

No hard questions now about whether the phone tapping and email monitoring powers of the State can be used to check that the doctors of Ireland do not talk to each other about any of this. That is for another thread!




.

[goosebump]

What other laws do our lawmakers not understand?

95% of them I would imagine.

[He3]

Dr Wong is so yesterday. He is Director of Monopolies at the Competition Authority. Yesterday he was on Morning Ireland trying to help the notoriously tough pupil Seán O'Rourke understand why the Government could negotiate, but the IMO could not negotiate. He said the problem was at the other side of the table. Seán was looking hard at the other side of the table but still could not see the nature of the problem. So he gave up.

Today the one and only Competition Authority sent out a different man into the Morning Ireland trenches. He is called a Director of Advocacy. His name is Declan Purcell.

Declan says it will be ok. All you need to get around the Competition Act problem is to set up a process that is not a negotiation. The government has to have the last word. And the IMO cannot say Yes on behalf of its members, the doctors of Ireland all have to say Yes without ever talking to each other.

Tune in to Morning Ireland tomorrow for the latest from the very expensive and truly unique Competition Authority.

PS

No hard questions now about whether the phone tapping and email monitoring powers of the State can be used to check that the doctors of Ireland do not talk to each other about any of this. That is for another thread!




.

[michael1965]

Dr Wong is so yesterday. He is Director of Monopolies at the Competition Authority. Yesterday he was on Morning Ireland trying to help the notoriously tough pupil Seán O'Rourke understand why the Government could negotiate, but the IMO could not negotiate. He said the problem was at the other side of the table. Seán was looking hard at the other side of the table but still could not see the nature of the problem. So he gave up.

Today the one and only Competition Authority sent out a different man into the Morning Ireland trenches. He is called a Director of Advocacy. His name is Declan Purcell.

Declan says it will be ok. All you need to get around the Competition Act problem is to set up a process that is not a negotiation. The government has to have the last word. And the IMO cannot say Yes on behalf of its members, the doctors of Ireland all have to say Yes without ever talking to each other.

Tune in to Morning Ireland tomorrow for the latest from the very expensive and truly unique Competition Authority.

PS

No hard questions now about whether the phone tapping and email monitoring powers of the State can be used to check that the doctors of Ireland do not talk to each other about any of this. That is for another thread!




.

Did the CA really say that? No cartels, or price fixing, but a nod and a wink is ok, so long as there isn't a paper trail ??

If they really said that, the Competition Authority should be shut down, or the personnel replaced at least. This would be a charter for every vested interest, to screw the public henceforth.

Either there is a genuine issue at the bottom of this, or there isn't. This kind of nonsense is not the answer.

[Parnella]

If the guy was genuine he would resign his seat and force a bye election.

Its just an empty gesture and when it suits himself and fianna fail they will be best buddies again.
How often have they pulled off these routines.

It seems like every second month you have a Fianna Failer blowing smoke, Witless Willy O'Dea over Shannon..etc., etc....pure undiluted bullsh!t.