Mr. Colm Desmond:

The interpretation can vary. Within that there can be quite significant variations in how spending is measured compared to other countries. There is the perennial issue of whether spending on social care should be included. We are including social care, whereas it may not be within the health sector in other societies. Also there is the question of whether that is a factor. There are within that particular areas which are difficult, such as the number of doctors per population which is considerably lower in Ireland and the number of beds per population is lower yet we have a significant acute budget. There are issues in terms of the emergency department and other pressures that may be contributing.