Dr. Matthew Sadlier:

I will make two points, although they are not in answer to a specific question, because most of those have been answered. I echo my colleague's comments on resources, as Ireland is significantly under-resourced per head of population with regard to the number of specialists compared to most European and other developed nations. Systems are already under stress and the expectation is that this legislation will not add a significant extra workload. Systems are already under severe strain.

With regard to the sites mentioned in head 1 of the Bill, particularly the interpretation of "appropriate location", the Irish hospital network contains interlocking and stand-alone units, with specialties in certain hospitals. Very few hospitals or health care facilities in the country have a broad range of medical specialties, so they rely on specialists coming from other locations, particularly when they are outside the larger urban centres. The definition as contained in the Bill is probably a little too prescriptive and takes in only a small number of facilities that could provide all those services.