Professor Michael Barry:

It is, and that is exactly why we do this stuff, the so-called opportunity cost, because if you are going to spend millions of euro, which is what we are talking about, in one area, then it is not available for somewhere else. The Deputy knows the challenges as well as I do in relation to many aspects of the health service. What we are trying to do is make the best use we can of all the resources. For example, the €142 million that will not be paid for orphan drugs this year is available for somewhere else. It is not for me to decide where it should go, but the Deputy is absolutely right about the concept of opportunity cost. We could, if we wanted to, pay the asking price upfront, straight away, but there is a price to be paid for that.