Dr. Mark White:

It is interesting that the previous session discussed the health service and not the health system. My colleague and I are here to represent Health Research Charities Ireland and the charities sector. I remind members that the health system is made up of a myriad of voluntary statutory providers, including some of the larger hospitals in the country and the charities sector, which we represent here today. My first observation is that any of the solutions that were put forward here today are very health service-centric and not health system-centric. My second observation about this morning, as an outsider, is that longevity in terms of health service improvement was spoken about as part of Sláintecare. One of the strongest chief information officers that this country has ever had was Richard Corbridge, who worked in the health services until 2017. I believe that a lack of engagement and investment acted as a catalyst for him leaving his post in Ireland and returning to the UK as the chief information officer for Boots. He has implemented a number of really innovative programmes of change within the Boots chain in the UK, which are starting to be implemented here in Ireland. Longevity is the big issue.