Dr. Niall Herity:

The Senator is right. I met Mr. O'Dwyer on the date I visited Cork. I think we agreed that the provision of interventional cardiology services in Waterford was a priority for the hospital group. It is strengthened and supported in the report and the recommendations I have provided. Furthermore, if members read the recommendations, they will see that I have recommended an expansion of interventional cardiology service provision in Waterford.

I remember something else well. It was a key theme, not just from Mr. O'Dwyer but from almost everyone I met, it being the concept of safe and sustainable services. It refers much more to the figure of 4% than 96%. A consistent message coming from the team in Waterford concerned the degree to which patients scheduled for planned procedures were receiving same-day cancellations as a result of the small volume of emergency work being done. That, undoubtedly, fed into the recommendation that the low volume of emergency work would be better consolidated elsewhere to enable the team to carry on with planned work. It already represents 96% of the overall work done and I have recommended that it be expanded by 20%.