Dr. Aidan Buckley:

To follow on from Dr. Owens, there is no suggestion of empire building in Waterford. That is not what we are about. We are not discussing airy-fairy esoteric treatment but standard treatment that patients need. There is clearly unmet need, both on an outpatient and inpatient basis. We can talk about code ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction, STEMI, and travel times but that is a very small part of our work. We have 700 people on a waiting list as a result of a capacity issue. This is not about trying to build a competitor centre to Cork or anything of that nature. It is an effort to fulfil unmet need in the south east in general, as opposed to Waterford.