Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
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I thank the delegates for attending this meeting. Mr. Doran mentioned that we need to ensure that all health professionals are being fully utilised. That would suggest that currently they are not, with which I agree. However, perhaps he would elaborate on the untapped expertise and resources currently not being utilised. I accept there will be challenges in terms of how we can best make use of resources because that requires a certain amount configuration and I imagine there is restructuring and reconfiguration fatigue in the system.

I am interested in hearing the witnesses' views in regard to how much value we get from the private sector for the services that are provided, on which issue I am sure the witnesses are aware I have my own views. For example, we know that €19 million was spent on private ambulance services over four years, €6.3 million of which was spent in one year. I believe we have people who could and should be providing that service publicly. There has been much discussion at this committee about the big bang approach versus incrementalism, which is, possibly, more achievable. How soon could we be ready for the type of massive transformation that we all know is necessary? In regard to incrementalism, we have discussed whether it is possible to reform the system piece by piece starting with the community system, followed by the hospital system and so on. I am interested in hearing the witnesses' views on how that would work, if it would work or if we should be massively aspirational and do what was done in Britain with the NHS? In other words, should we put the necessary legislation in place and move ahead or should we take the incremental approach?