Mr. Derek Tierney:

I will deal with the use of the LINAC machine. We have an investment programme of anywhere between €16 million and €20 million a year to replenish and refurbish our equipment. The nuclear physicist in me asks whether you can exploit a LINAC for 24 hours a day. There are clinical protocols around exposure to nuclear sources. That has to be managed. To come back to Deputy Clarke's earlier comment, we have just completed a review of the utilisation of all of our diagnostic equipment across the State to make sure we are getting the best bang for our buck and that we are able to match demand with our capacity and resourcing model. As Mr. Gloster has said, we are starting a performance dialogue with the service as to whether we are fully exploiting our diagnostic equipment. We can come back to the committee on that.

On the particular question of a PET scanner for the west and north west, I do not have that detail but I will come back to the Deputy with a note on it.