Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Earlier, I asked if in six months' time we would observe a sizeable impact on the erosion of the waiting lists, the answer to which was in the negative, but I would like to put it again. In order to do our job as a committee, we need to know what length of time it will take to put in place what is required from the witnesses' vantage point, utilising all of the services and facilities.

My final point is in regard to clearance by the authorising body here of implants. Does that body evaluate implants in the same way as it evaluates drugs, or does the European Union authority evaluate implants in the same way as it evaluates drugs? As I understand it, the answer to that question is "No".