Mr. Paul Reid:

I thank Senator Conway for his question. In direct response to the Senator's question on Limerick, we have a very good management team led by the CEO in UHL. Unfortunately, she comes under a lot of personal criticism - I am not saying from the Senator.

That is understandable but I have very strong confidence in the CEO of UHL and our clinical team there. They face some real challenges with regard to demographics. The Senator is correct that very significant investment has gone into the hospital. There are approximately 100 extra beds and a new accident and emergency department. However, the hospital is under some real demographic pressures. With regard to capacity, whereas other hospitals, including hospitals on the east coast, have a small number of hospitals to step people down into, there is not similar capacity in Limerick. It is a challenge for us. There is no doubt but that elective hospitals will provide regional capacity in the future. I might ask my colleagues, Mr. Woods and Ms O'Connor, to comment.