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

Fair enough. Given that we have to increase capacity, would it not be helpful if, for example, the Department did not have to negotiate with private hospitals but just had the capacity? Would that not be better? It would be better if we knew what was on their books, which we do not really know, in terms of the cost of beds. Would that not be better notwithstanding the need to ramp up capacity? One of our earlier witnesses, Professor Alan Irvine, suggested that we should be looking at local solutions to quickly ramp up capacity. Are we doing that? For example, there are two buildings of 17,000 sq. m near Merrion Gates called the Seamark buildings. They are sitting empty for the last five years, right beside St. Vincent's Hospital. When there is talk of setting up modular hospital beds, would we not be better going in and purchasing those blocks for increasing capacity on an emergency basis? That is just by way of example.