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

I thank Mr. Woods for that clarification. Again, the issues in the Rotunda are not new but there does not seem to be a massive sense of urgency about addressing them. I welcome the fact that people are now committing to attend meetings that they were always going to attend anyway, apparently.

I have a question about the use of debt collection agencies, which I have raised previously. I abhor the practice of using debt collection agencies to chase people because the people being chased are sick. I wish to bring to the witnesses' attention one example of the practice. An elderly lady who has a medical card needed a hip operation. She could not wait for a public appointment so her family clubbed together, with money they did not really have, to ensure that she could get an operation privately. Following on from that, she developed septicemia and was admitted to hospital. However, because she had previously been a private patient, she was brought into the private wing of the hospital. This elderly lady who had septicemia did not know where she was being brought. She was brought to the private wing in the hospital. She now has a bill for €4,000 and is being chased by a debt collection agency. This is one example and-----