Mr. Robert Watt:

There are pressures in the areas the Deputy mentioned. On some of those sites, capital projects are either under way or in the pipeline to increase beds. Over the last number of years we have increased the number of beds by over 1,000 and there are a few hundred additional beds for this year. We have a programme of ongoing improvements in the main sites and as we mentioned previously, there are planned improvements to the six surgical hubs, two of which will be open this year, with the remainder opening next year. Last week the Government approved the next phase in relation to the elective hospitals. The two sites for Dublin are pushing ahead. We also have two major projects in the form of the children's hospital, CHI, at St. James and the national maternity hospital, which is pushing ahead at Elm Park.