Mr. Bernard Gloster:

I do not know when the money came into profile. It was before my time, but the money is now there for the CHO 7 team. I am not aware of any outstanding issues with the governance model. It is simply a recruitment process, with a target to get the four teams, including CHO 7, operational by the end of this year. I need to be very fair with everybody and qualify expectation on that. Recruiting for those four full teams by the end of this year and having everybody in place will be challenging. Hopefully, we will get that done as early as we can in 2025, if not at the end of this year. That is the first thing. It is important to be upfront with people on that.

CHO 7 is of itself a hard area in which to recruit allied health professionals because the demand we have for allied health professionals far outstrips what is available. The story of the cost of living in Dublin is well rehearsed. I know that area extends into Kildare and west Wicklow but costs are high there also.

Regarding the beds outside the national rehabilitation hospital, earlier we discussed with one of the Deputy's colleagues on the committee that the target is approximately 20 beds per 1 million people. I believe there are currently 27 in place between Peamount and the Royal Hospital in Donnybrook. We have other beds around the country that are called rehab beds, usually for stroke. We will expand their remit and the staffing associated with them to bring us up to 20 beds per 1 million people. That will take a bit of time.