Ms Angela Fitzgerald:

I understand the Deputy's concern. We would say - the report actually says this - that when you make a decision to reconfigure, if investment decisions are required alongside that, they need to happen. Otherwise, you take something away and do not put something else in its place. That is clearly understood by everybody here. There were reasons for what happened. The economy was in a significant downturn. That investment did not happen. It means we cannot avoid the need for action now. While the model 3 hospital proposal has merit and we can see the merit, we know it will not provide an answer for the people of Limerick and the staff working in Limerick for a significant number of years. If we were to rely on that without acting now, we would not serve the people the Deputy represents.