Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am loath to interrupt. That is true up to a point. On a regular basis the committee is faced with the private sector and the public sector, very often competing with each other. Sometimes they overlap and at other times they do not overlap and there are gaps in the system. As one can see from looking at the colour of my hair, I come from an earlier generation and I remember when there was only one provider and everything went through that system. It may have had its restrictions and disadvantages, but there are multiples of providers for almost everything in the health services nowadays. They all have good intentions, are well structured and they all compete in the marketplace and very often they almost bump into each other in the provision of services. That is my observation from dealing with constituents on a daily basis.