Mr. Jim Breslin:

The proposal is that there would be shared care between this hospital and the regional units. As evidence of the ambulatory nature of keeping people from being admitted, there would be two urgent care outpatient centres, one in Blanchardstown and another in Tallaght. The further facilities in the hospital, such as those relating to diagnostics and day cases, will see, for example, a 47% increase in outpatients in the hospital once constructed over the three children’s hospitals. There will be a 26% increase in day cases. The philosophy is to use the facilities not to have large numbers of children in beds if they do not need to be in them. Obviously, very sick children have to be admitted. We have a complement of beds for that. We have a significant increase of going up to 60 ICU beds. We have much more specialist intensive beds in the hospital. We have very much an ambulatory approach to the delivery of care.