Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy. Removing private care from our public hospitals is absolutely essential. We are in the middle of negotiations with regard to a public-only contract. I cannot get into the detail of that, obviously, because the negotiations are ongoing. The policy goal, however, is that public patients are treated in public hospitals and that is it. It is very important.

To address the Deputy's question on resistance, the doctors in our system have dedicated their lives to our patients. They want to be able to treat as many people as possible as quickly as possible with the best available technology and medical science. That is what motivates them. That is why they went to medical school and why they work 60, 70 and 80 hours per week. We need to make sure, therefore, that the change is positive and works and that we move forward together.