John Brassil (Kerry, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Dr. Figueras alluded in his submission to Ireland having the only EU health system that does not offer universal coverage in primary health care. The committee has met over the past number of weeks with many people from the primary health care sector. If the committee were to suggest that as a first stop we should fund our primary health care system and properly manage it would that, in Dr. Figueras's opinion, be a good starting point for its work? Spain appears to be top-of-the-class in this area. I accept that there are issues in the Spanish health system but because of the work that it does at primary level, it rates far higher than its EU counterparts. I am interested in hearing Dr. Figueras's opinion on that issue.

In terms of the percentage spend of GDP, Ireland is below 8%. What does Dr. Figueras think is the optimum spend? In other words, what amount, in terms of Dr. Figueras experience around the EU, should we be spending in this area? I note that Ireland ranks third highest in the EU in terms of alcohol consumption and fourth highest in terms of smoking, which is not something of which we should be proud. Is this relevant to our health issues; is there a need for us to strive to remove ourselves from among the top ten countries in that regard and would that have a significant impact on our health system?

I am interested in hearing Dr. Figueras's opinion on bed capacity. I believe that we are somewhere in the region of 1,500 beds short of what we need in the country. Would sufficient bed capacity in itself lead to a much better set out outcomes? Dr. Figueras may be aware that this committee has only been in a place for a few months now. He mentioned earlier that he recently carried out work in Finland similar to that which this committee is undertaking. In that regard, does he work alone or does he have a team of people working with him and is the detailed analysis and statistics gathered in that regard a body of work in respect of which he needs assistance or does he do all of the work himself and how long does it take to do such a body of work? I am interested in hearing Dr. Figueras's response to that question in the context of the work being undertaken by this committee and the type of back up we might need.