Ms Angela Fitzgerald:

I do not have the information here but I can get it for the Senator. We have taken two or three measures in the past 12 months and more than 100 patients from Tallaght were treated under the NTPF in the last quarter of last year, using an outsourced arrangement. In addition, the arrangements for scoliosis have made provision for the transfer of services from Tallaght to the Mater which frees up services in Tallaght and allows adolescents and adults who need deformity surgery to be treated in the Mater. That service has worked very well. Our objective in working with NTPF this year is to target a further 100 to 150 patients to be treated with spinal surgery. We can provide the most recent update on the particular challenges and where we expect to be over the coming months.