In a statement this evening Richard Boyd Barrett TD said Minister Reilly's statement in the dail this evening was unconvincing and still leaves the important questions unanswered. The People Before Profit-ULA TD went further to say the Minister is using sophistry to avoid answering the real questions.

The Minister's creative construction of his answers made a distinction between site and location in his choosing of the 15 extra primary care sites. Choosing the towns is not as the Minister claimed, somehow different from choosing the sites. The HSE selected the sites in 2007 and as this information was available to Reilly as Minister, it is disingenuous to say choosing the towns was not the same as choosing the sites.

The Minister was equally disingenuous in saying that NAMA and therefore the taxpayer would be the beneficiaries of sites in NAMA being chosen. By the selection of properties or sites in NAMA the reality is that developers will be allowed to trade out of their difficulties.

Richard Boyd Barrett said, "The key questions are still unanswered. How were the sites chosen and what were the criteria and the weightings used to make the selection of the sites"

"Minister Reilly needs to publish the full list of sites and the criteria and weightings and how they applied to each site and how this resulted in the selection of the 15 sites that he chose"

"I also find it odd that we requested this list last week from the Dept of Health and we were told the information was not available and we have been attempting to phone the Ministers office and we have had no answer".

For info/comment: Richard Boyd Barrett TD 086 7814520
Sara O'Rourke 087 6024821