Mr. Jim Breslin:

It was primarily for the reason the Deputy just mentioned, that is, that it was contingent on our being overwhelmed and the view that we would have the capacity if overwhelmed. We will never be able to value that. Regarding the actual valuation and the cost–benefit analysis - I have done such analyses in my time – I do not know how a figure could be put on it. Capacity was the primary purpose of the deal. We moved to plan B when what was envisaged did not emerge. It is not that it did not emerge on 1 April but that it did not emerge over the course of April. We worked based on what had already been written into the heads of terms, namely, that we could prioritise other essential care and other non-Covid care. The HSE put arrangements in place to try to boost that. Getting that activity through was not easy because it was in circumstances of public health restrictions, nor was it easy because we had moved into an operational environment in the private hospitals that was completely new by comparison with anything the HSE was used to. We have, however, seen a steady use in the utilisation of the facilities.