Matt Shanahan (Waterford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I have a couple of comments for Mr. Breslin. In respect of his comments about four fire tenders being sent out and are we not glad that we sent them, I would agree with him but I would also say that pretty soon we discovered that two fire tenders had the fire under control. We could have sent those other tenders off to treat fires elsewhere. In other words, the under-capacity was recognised yet nothing was done about it. Mr. Breslin said earlier that a partnership arrangement was entered into with respect to the private hospitals and the consultants. I note that the IHCA wrote to the Department at the end of April outlining the capacity issues and the fact that there was between 20% and 30% capacity being used. What steps did the Department implement at that stage to try to recover some of the cost? What is at issue here is public money. This is what people are questioning, especially considering the timeframe we are now going into and the costs we are going to see as a result of all of this.

Mr. Varley outlined in committee earlier that he learned in the media that a type A contract was to be introduced for doctors. He also learned that indemnity insurance might be removed.

I am not sure that is a partnership arrangement I would want to enter into. Will Mr. Breslin give a response to that?