Mr. Bernard Gloster:

I thank the Senator. When a Donegal man tells me he does not want to put me on the spot I know he is doing exactly that. Ms McGuinness will talk about the waiting times and Dr. Henry the cancer services, so I will be very brief. Why do some hospitals perform better than others? It is down to the history of the hospital in question, the resources it has and the skill, energy and innovation of its workforce. There are lots of reasons. Part of it is down to management - there is no question about that. We blame doctors and nurses a lot of the time as regards productivity but managers have to be productive as well.

On the question about the surgical hub, which is a well-aired and well-publicised story, I will say two things. My read is that they did land on Sligo - I think that has been articulated - for the location of a surgical hub. A surgical hub is usually population-based. We have not submitted a final business case to the Department on the basis of concerns people have. Having spoken to my team, rather than just look at the surgical hub I want to look at the totality of what we can recommend to the Minister. Donegal and the north west need not just surgical hubs but other supports. I am happy to tell the Senator and put on the public record that I firmly believe Donegal needs increased capacity and at a scale of priority. I will not speak for her but I believe the Minister does not disagree with me on that. I think the Senator will hear more about it. I believe the Minister has committed to going back to the people of the north west within the month with a more firm decision. I will leave it at that, to be fair to her.