Joe Neville (Kildare North, Fine Gael)

Dare I say it, but who do these people think they are if they feel they can push back on such significant funding and some basic systems that we need to put in place?

My last question is on public-private partnerships and how they work. In my second round of questions, I might ask more about consultants. How do PPPs work in hospitals? How does the cost of, say, ICU units or blood banks get brought back to the private consultants? Is there some methodology used? Obviously, private consultants can operate privately and look after patients in that way, which is fine, but how do we ensure that they are willing to charge us on he one hand and, on the other hand, that costs go back to them?