Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Okay. If we are talking about funding the removal of private care, it is pretty important whether or not we know if that private care is covering its costs right now. What we could be doing, if the public system is getting the costs plus a margin, is stripping more money out of the public system, which the Exchequer's going to have to cough up for. Neither Dr. Keegan nor Dr. de Buitléir know.

Much of Dr. de Buitléir's report focuses on changing the consultant contract, and we have an unusual consultant contract in Ireland which allows for this. Just on a point of clarification, the new Sláintecare consultant contract essentially would disallow private work in the public hospitals, but would it allow consultants do private work in private hospitals? Could they do four days a week in a HSE hospital and then do Friday, Saturday or Sunday in a private hospital?