Professor Charles Gallagher:

I personally do not feel pressurised and I do not believe that my colleague, Dr. McKone, feels pressurised because our clinical need is to have those patients there. This is the national referral centre for adult cystic fibrosis. Those patients attending our centre need to be there. Patients coming from other centres for a second opinion go back to the other centres. We are resourced for that.

The Senator's second question was as to the whereabouts of the other 14 rooms. I cannot answer that. My answer to his question about what I would recommend might not make me popular but I recommend that there be an allocation of rooms for people with cystic fibrosis. Twenty is not enough. The other ones should be allocated in one area and if they are not used by CF patients they should be used by other patients. That is the situation. I fully support responding to other patient needs but the issue now is to have the CF patients in one area where there is availability, expertise and nursing staff. If those rooms are not taken up I strongly support their use by other patient groups. There is a need for capacity of up to 34 inpatient beds, in line with all the international and Irish guidelines.