Mr. Robert Watt:

I do not know; that is the answer to the question. I have not seen the latest data. I think, generally, people do trust the health system. They do respect the health system. There are issues around access, but once they have access, they express very strong positivity around the service they receive. In terms of the Department of Health, I would certainly be very proud of what the Department has delivered over the last number of years in incredibly difficult circumstances. I think officials of the Department can be very proud of what they have achieved in navigating us through this crisis. By its nature, there are always issues in health. I do not listen to radio but I am told that on most mornings, of the first five or six items on "Morning Ireland", close to half, or the majority, are health issues. The nature of health is the nature of the system that we have. It is a vast Department. The health system is by far the biggest provider of a service by the State to our citizens. It affects all of us. All of our families have been affected. As we all know, at various stages in our lives, we have to access the health system and at a time which could be most distressing for us.

It is a very challenging and emotive place and it is very contested. It is inevitable. It is my job to deliver on the programme for Government, to work with the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, and the Taoiseach to deliver and to get the Department into as best shape it can be deliver on that. That is what I do. We try not to get distracted by other things that can be somewhat extraneous, ultimately. We try to focus on getting the Department in the best possible shape and focusing on the big policy challenge over recent years, which was the pandemic. We have a challenge now to prepare for the emergency department situation that we will face next winter, no doubt. We also have issues around waiting lists, which Deputy Durkan touched on earlier. That is our focus and what we do. I do not think it is possible or realistic to expect that health will not be in the headlines or that there will not be issues and things thrown in our direction. That is inevitable. Our job is to keep on delivering and working away and that is what we are trying to do.