Eugene Murphy (Roscommon-Galway, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

In fairness, Deputies Durkan and O'Reilly have posed some of the questions I was going to ask so I will not prolong my contribution by repeating all that has been said. I welcome Mr. Horan here today and I wish him well in his reappointment. It is a challenging position. I believe that all here have a duty and a responsibility to work together, whether we are politicians, consultants, GPs or unions to try to improve the lot of the patient.

When we consider the National Treatment Purchase Fund and then look at the appalling waiting lists, we must do something. I know that €15 million has been allocated in this year's programme for Government for waiting list initiatives. Perhaps Mr. Horan will indicate when this might be up and running and can he give dates? I understand that a sizeable figure of €55 million has been allocated for next year. Will this be targeted in certain sections or will it be across the board? Has Mr. Horan a target figure for how many people he thinks will be treated and could be taken off the waiting lists?

Turning to the nursing home scenario, in my Roscommon constituency there have been situations of appalling overcrowding in hospitals such as in Portiuncula Hospital in Ballinsaloe, for example. Despite a competitive and top standard nursing home being out the road, there was no attempt to move some of the patients who could be moved to the nursing home for a few weeks in order to free up space in the hospital. At that time things were so chronic with overcrowding that ambulances were taking people to the Midland Regional Hospital in Mullingar, County Westmeath. They could not even be sent to University Hospital Galway, which is down the road. That is how chronic and bad things were. In a crisis situation such as that why would a nursing home not be used?

There is a whisper going around that some of the nursing homes are being overlooked. It is hard to understand, when one sees that the costs associated with the public nursing home are well above the cost of the private nursing home.

I recently received correspondence about the cross-Border fund. Does Mr. Horan have any comment on that? I was surprised when I read about it that it is not promoted and used more. Better value could be made of it and more people could be dealt with more speedily.

To return to the three year deals for the nursing homes, revaluation of property is not taken into account. In many parts of the country property is being revalued. There are some hidden costs because if there is a revaluation in the middle of a three year contract the costs will change. It has been so long since there was a revaluation process in this country that many businesses are shocked by the level of their revaluations.

Mr. Horan said that he has appointed a new chief executive officer, CEO. Who is that person and how much does that cost annually?