Mr. Stephen Mulvany:

On debt collection, let us consider the period from the end of 2012 to the end of 2013, the last two completed years. Taking it that they are two components of the debt collection process – a piece on the HSE and the piece on the insurer side – the HSE has improved its measure of how quickly we are billing and collecting the debt, by about 7.5%. Unfortunately, the insurers have disimproved theirs by about 27 days, or 39%. It is important to say that if we are measuring this process against what we believe to be a process designed by the HSE for the efficient collection of the statutory charge, which is probably what we are regarding it as, that would be an incorrect measurement. This is not a process designed by the HSE and certainly not a process designed to collect the statutory charge efficiently. The HSE would be quite able to issue the statutory charge bill on the day of discharge or the day after. The insurers do not accept that charge until we provide them with a significant amount of additional information which is unrelated specifically to the statutory charge and its collection. This is a process designed to assist the private insurers to ensure they get sufficient information to allow them to pay the consultants who deliver services when they opt to go private in our public hospitals. It is not designed for the efficient collection of the statutory charge. We should not be measuring that concept. For the piece we control, we continue to improve our element. However, as we have often said, if we were able to issue our statutory charge on the day of discharge, as would be the norm in business, and it were paid within 30 days, it would make a very significant difference to the overall process.