Colm Burke (Cork North-Central, Fine Gael)

I thank the witnesses for the presentation and for all the work that is being done.

I will focus a bit on my own area in Cork and long-term planning there. We have a substantial increase in population in Cork, and the Cork-Kerry region has increased substantially, but we have not had any increase in the number of hospital beds in the last 20 years in real terms. Where are we now in relation to Mallow? A new four-storey unit was built there. Two floors - the second and third - are occupied. Where are we with the first floor and ground floor over the next 12 months?

The second issue is the huge pressure in relation to rehab. The facility at Dún Laoghaire is under huge pressure. We have had an increase in population of 40% but we have not had an increase in real terms in the number of beds available for that area. What is being done? We were talking about a rehab facility for Cork 25 years ago to deal with people who suffered substantial injuries and needed a huge amount of care in helping them to get back to a normal way of living.

The other issue I will raise relates to access to some medical services that come in under the treatment abroad scheme. If you travel to Northern Ireland you can get a refund, but the treatment purchase fund is not available for the same medical care. Is that right? What are we going to do about that, where people are available here who could provide the care within this country without people having to go abroad?