Mr. Liam Sloyan:

I suppose I would just add that there is not a reliance on the NTPF to bring waiting lists down. We work closely with our colleagues in the HSE and the vast majority of treatment of waiting list patients continues to be done by the HSE in public hospitals.

The value of a commissioning system, adding on a relatively small level of extra capacity there, is the flexibility and agility of such a system. It is the case that challenges arise for waiting lists in many different places, many different ways and many different times and a commissioning system can have the flexibility to address the different types of challenges as they might arise. For example, it may be in one public hospital that they require more theatre time and that can be rented in a private hospital to facilitate them. Others may need more staff or funding to provide work at the weekend or in the evening. The NTPF and a commissioning system can look at the different types of problems that have arisen and find a solution to fit a particular problem. I would point out again that the vast majority of waiting list patients are addressed in the public system through the HSE in Ireland.