Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I do not dispute that. We accept there is an unacceptably low level of capacity given the pre-existing challenges pre-Covid-19, and now with Covid-19.

As a sidebar, I will turn to the heroic work of our health workers.

Are the high infection rates in any way linked to the low staffing and capacity levels, which meant staff were overworked, working excessive hours and therefore exposed more to the virus? It seems to me that there is a connection. Some in this House have made it clear that they want to return essentially to the two-tier system and give the capacity back to the private health system. Is that not reckless in the extreme given that we could face surges in the near future? With the limited capacity we have, do we not at least require a totally integrated system rather than a fragmented one? That means keeping the private capacity under public control. I think that is what we must have. Has Mr. Breslin considered the outright nationalisation of the private hospitals rather than paying them rent of €110 million a month, which is clearly not very good value?