I seek clarification from the Tánaiste. Under section 221 of the National Asset Management Agency, NAMA, Act it is an offence to attempt to lobby NAMA. The penalty on conviction of that offence is a fine of €1,000 or six months in prison. I am not suggesting there was any interference with or lobbying of NAMA but the issue raised today, following a freedom of information request about a particular meeting between the Minister for Health and NAMA and the information we received from the Department of Health-----

A question on the Order of Business, Deputy.

-----which related to how the primary care centres were selected hours before the Cabinet meeting-----

What is your question on the Order of Business?

-----reveal the unsatisfactory fact that the Opposition has had to use the Freedom of Information Acts for months to piece together the jigsaw of the decision to select these primary care centres. It is most unsatisfactory. The Government made a commitment to introduce new freedom of information legislation. It has taken us months to get much of the detail, some of which is redacted. The dripping of information relating to the selection of primary care centres is entirely unsatisfactory.

Will the Tánaiste commit the Government to undertaking a sharp inquiry into the primary care centre debacle, with a view to using all the documentation that is now available under freedom of information and questioning the key people involved, so we can get a comprehensive account of how those primary care centres were selected? I ask the Tánaiste to give a commitment to hold such an inquiry. This issue is a distraction for the Dáil. It has been arising since last June and new pieces of information are emerging all the time. Behind the scenes, the Tánaiste must be unhappy with what is happening in this case. A number of his party's Ministers have expressed their disquiet. It is equally unsatisfactory that we must use the freedom of information procedure all the time. The Tánaiste gave me a commitment some months ago that he would publish all the documentation about this, but he did not. I had to wait for months to get it under the Freedom of Information Act.

First, there is no issue with any matter in connection with any Minister being debated either in the House or at the appropriate committee. One of the reasons we have committees is so they can address issues and question Ministers, probably in far greater detail than is normally permitted in the Chamber during Question Time. There is no difficulty with any issue being questioned by the Members of the Opposition.

With regard to freedom of information, the Deputy will recall that his Government filleted the Freedom of Information Act, so amending legislation will be brought before the House in the new year to restore many of the powers of that Act.

I call Deputy McDonald.

The Tánaiste could do much more now. Will there be an inquiry?

I have called Deputy McDonald.

I, too, believe that the handling of the primary care centres is something to which we will have to return in the new year.

It can be dealt with by way of a motion.