Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank all of our guests for coming and the work they do. I am not just referring to their day jobs which would probably be enough for most people, as they do additional advocacy work. As a former shop steward, or whatever term one may use, I know that work is done in one's own time and at the expense of time spent with families, etc, but it is appreciated.

I have a few questions, but I will begin by referring briefly to the National Treatment Purchase Fund, NTPF. I had the pleasure of attending the IHCA annual delegate conference at which I spoke to one of the delegates' colleagues. He advised me of the mechanism being used with the NTPF and the targeting of those who had been waiting the longest for their first appointment. Such persons are being wiped off the list after seeing a private consultant, but they are then placed on another list. They are not getting any closer to getting better, rather they are being shifted from a list that looks atrocious to one that looks slightly better. They will soon be joined by others. Will the delegates explain how the process works and the real impact of the NTPF which is sometimes sold as a mechanism to solve the problem of waiting lists?

I do not have and have never had private health insurance. People in my immediate family do not have it and most people in my extended family do not have it. There was mention of 1 million people without insurance and they are not anonymous to me. They are not just people I see in my advice clinics either. They are my close family members and this is not something I must read about in the newspapers. I live this experience. Will the delegates explain the impact of the NTPF?