Professor Orla Hardiman:

We have done some costings in respect of the management of motor neurone disease through the years. However, rather than give the Deputy that figure without having recourse to the work we have done, I will follow up in writing. It will be easy to provide that way. That said, we would need to include the cost of the four IMNDA nurses who work closely with the four HSE-funded nurses who work out of Beaumont Hospital. Effectively, we would be costing eight nurses, of whom four are currently funded by the State and four by charitable philanthropic engagement which is very much at the mercy of the generosity of the Irish people. Clearly, that is a concern. In order for us to give the Deputy a real cost, we would have to include the cost of the nurses and the equipment bank the IMNDA provides which, in my opinion, should be supported through the public purse rather than through church gate collections and coffee mornings.