Dr Liam Twomey a TD for Co Wexford and GP in Rosslare Strand, Co Wexford, is on the couch this week
Family: Married to Dr Liz O'Sullivan. Three children: Michael (3), William (2) and Lauri (1).
What figure from the world of health/medicine do you most admire?
Dr Noel Browne, he was ahead of his time in trying to deliver an equable health service. He was successful with TB prevention, but his mother and child scheme was unacceptable to the social mores of the time, even though it was the most vulnerable society who were benefiting.
What alternative career might you have chosen?
Making medicine my career choice at 18 years of age was leaving a lot to chance. I consider politics my alternative career now, but events in the future could send me on any number of alternative career pathways.
If you were appointed Minister for Health, what would be your first priority?
Saving primary care from destruction would be my first priority. All the other services, including acute hospitals and mental health services, are dependent on primary care working, but this vital point is wasted on so many politicians because they do not understand the health services. There is tremendous goodwill from doctors, nurses, clinical professionals, administrators and others working in healthcare, but it is being slowly eroded by the antics of the Government. Reforms so far are focusing too much on the administrative end and not on the delivery of health services. There are a few short-term solutions that would immediately benefit patients, and the longer term strategy needs more flexibility and more decentralisation.
Do you have a phobia/what is your greatest fear?
The insecurity of my teenage years on what the future would hold was my greatest fear. Now I will worry about my own children when they reach this stage in their lives.
Have you ever been a patient and were you a good one?
I have never been an in-patient. I hope I will be a good patient if the need arises.
What three books would you bring to a desert island?
I would bring only one book: Harrison's Textbook of Internal Medicine. When I am rescued years later, I would be an expert on all medical conditions.
Have you a fail-safe method of dealing with stress?
Stress can be a positive motivation factor. Recognising when stress is having a negative impact is the key. The best way to deal with it is to go for a long walk or disappear for the weekend.
What is your favourite TV or radio programme?
The Sopranos on TV and current affairs programmes on both radio and TV.
If you did not live in Ireland, where would you choose to spend the rest of your life?
Somewhere between Rome and Capri in Italy.
Summarise yourself in 12 words?
I am too self-conscious to describe myself with positive adjectives and too ordinary to deserve them.
Do you use alternative medicine/therapies?
I never had to use alternative medicine, but I am getting close to the age that many cardiologists would consider a statin and an aspirin more appropriate with breakfast than coffee.
Who or what makes you laugh?
There is something that happens every day in my life that makes me laugh - long that it may last.