Mr. Martin Varley:

We have to see this through the prism of the situation the private practice consultants found themselves in. As I said earlier, they had a Hobson's choice. Would one sign a contract that constrained or prohibited one from providing continuity of care in one's outpatient clinics? I have spoken to many consultants in those circumstances. I should add that private practice consultants in different specialties found themselves in different situations. If one was an anaesthetist the same circumstances did not apply as would to a cardiologist, medical oncologist and others. This explains why some were in a position to sign up and others were not. I have seen some of the room costs of medical and respiratory consultants in private practice. The lowest is €6,000 per month increasing to €10,000, €15,000 and €20,000. In my view the failure was not, in fact, that private practice consultants were not engaging. I estimate I have spent 80 to 100 hours a week on issues trying to unblock the obstacles, together with our private practice consultants, so they could sign up.