Matt Shanahan (Waterford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank our guests here today. I stated in the previous module today that the submissions that had been received earlier today largely reflected a great deal of frustration and some of that is coming across in this meeting here too. I would rather concentrate on what we can do rather than on what, potentially maybe, we think we are doing.

I brought up in a previous module the issue of scoping and radiology. I believe there is capacity now in the public system to do increased scoping and radiology later in the afternoon or in the evening because of the capacity constraints during the day. I wonder has the NTPF looked, as I stated earlier, at using some of the specialist registrars, SpRs, using some of the consultants on-site to try and expand hours into the evening. They could go quite late into the evening, maybe to 7 p.m., 8 p.m. or 9 p.m., to do additional procedures.