Jim Daly (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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It is always difficult being in the shade but, notwithstanding that, I will do my best to live up to what is expected of me.

It is unique for this committee to have quarterly meetings with the Minister. Not every Minister has quarterly meetings with their corresponding committee. The Minister has always prioritised and tried to attend these meetings as a priority. I know that I catch the flak more often than not when he cannot make it, but it is certainly not due to lack on interest on his part. I am aware the members are not suggesting that but I just wanted to make the point that he has always tried to prioritise his attendance at these quarterly meetings.

I wish to correct what the Deputy said. The Taoiseach did not criticise front-line workers. There is a political attraction for all of us in interpreting what the Taoiseach said. To be fair, he referred to workforce planning and the availability of staff. Deputy O'Reilly touched on that issue in the context of diagnostic staff. I am not speaking for the Taoiseach; he is a very articulate man and well able to outline his views. I do not wish to interpret what he said. There is a point to be made, however, which a lot of people accept - regardless of whether we like it - that some steps can be taken to improve workflow and patient flow at different times. I refer, for example, to circumstances where a lot of people might come into an acute hospital and diagnostic services might not be available because they only operate between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. If diagnostic services were available for longer, more procedures could be performed. There is merit to that and a bit of focus on it would be welcome. The Taoiseach was certainly not criticising front-line staff.

The Deputy inquired about bed capacity. The bed capacity is to be achieved over ten years. The figure of 319 is for one year. The question that arises relates to how to get to 3,200 beds over a period of ten years.

Reference was made to outpatient appointments and new people coming in. The do-not-shows constitute only one part of that. We hope that 30,000 will be eliminated from that list when it is tidied up. We are working towards the Sláintecare plan to bring the care to the lower level whereby people can be treated at primary care centres. That is probably the answer to the Deputy's question on how we intend to deal with the new clients who will come onto the list, as well as those who have been waiting a long time.