Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

One aspect of Government policy is to increase the number of beds, which is needed. There are 52 acute hospitals and there is a problem with seven or eight, and two or three at any one time, where we require more beds so that acute hospitals can refer patients who do not require intensive care to other locations. We must deal with the bed situation, the biggest problem in the health service. Arising from this, the co-location initiative was to invite private investment to free 1,000 beds now in public hospitals. This will add more quickly to the overall capacity. These services will be bought for public patients. If Deputy Rabbitte asked if I was in favour of co-location beds on the sites of public hospitals — he is right to say the sites are scarce — that would never be accessible to any public patients and would not stand down the 1,000 beds designated as private or semi-private in public hospitals, I would be against such a proposal. That is a clear statement. The Deputy asked if I was for or against a proposal that takes over 1,000 beds currently in designated public hospitals being taken up by private patients, creating at times a delay and difficulties for public patients coming in I am not against that. That is a sensible thing to do.

In regard to co-location I will cite the example I know best for obvious reasons. For over 120 years there has been co-location on the site of my former employment, the Mater Hospital, where the public hospital operated as such and the private hospital has worked since 1860. There is no difficulty there. The doctors on the campus move from one hospital to another.

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