Dr. Mick Molloy:

The figure of 85% capacity has been discussed a lot. That only relates to large hospitals. We have quite a lot of moderate-sized hospitals in our model 3 hospitals. They are not supposed to operate at beyond 75%. Smaller hospitals should not be operating at more than 65% because that means they are able to cope with a sudden extra five or ten people. At the moment, there are days when the whole system is operating at more than 100%. That is not safe and is dangerous for everybody involved. To get that figure down, we need to increase capacity. We are asking for urgent modular build as soon as possible rather than waiting for a ten-year capital plan. It has to be immediate. We have been discussing this since 2000, when the Taoiseach was the Minister for Health, and it has not changed. There are fewer acute beds now than there were then.