Ms Phil Ní Sheaghdha:

The elective-only hospital as envisaged by Sláintecare - Deputy Shortall, who chaired that committee, can correct me if I am wrong - was not for the provision of day services only. The three elective hospitals that are now being developed are for day surgeries and day procedures only. They will not assist in any location. They will possibly decrease the numbers attending outpatients and day surgery but they will not assist in our battle to provide overcrowding solutions. The problem we have in our acute hospitals right now is that our day surgeries are full of inpatients. The elective hospitals as envisaged by Sláintecare in our view were never designed to close at 5 o'clock.