Professor Frank Murray:

That is a very good question. One of the most stark and impressive figures in Irish healthcare is that since 2000 life expectancy in Ireland has increased from 76 to 81. That is very stark. That reflects three major factors. The first is the quantity and quality of healthcare and the way we spend our money on healthcare in Ireland, which, I believe, provides quite good value for money. When I compare what we do now for patients in terms of medications and technology with the provision 17 or 18 years ago, and my clinical colleagues will support this, everything has improved dramatically in Ireland. That is one place where our healthcare spend goes. The other two big factors involved in the reason life expectancy has increased by five years, which is very dramatic, are the reduced rate of tobacco consumption and a fall from the peak in 2001 in alcohol consumption, which, as I said here previously, is still a dreadful problem here in Ireland. If we are to continue to improve our life expectancy, improving on those three factors must come into play. However, it is worth celebrating the successes in healthcare in Ireland.