Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

Deputy Stagg does not want to hear what I have to say about public hospital beds. Currently there are several thousand private beds in public hospitals and there is no access for public patients. We are endeavouring to build co-located private hospitals so that those private beds can move out of public hospitals and be designated private hospitals. The same consultants would be able to work in their public and private capacities but we would have more access for public patients. Accident and emergency units would not be affected. Deputy Rabbitte knows that the Minister for Health and Children issued a statement on this matter last week. It will not affect accident and emergency services.

I accept the Deputy is opposed to this but we are trying to make more public hospitals available in the short term to people who are on public waiting lists. With the increases in population and specialisation, we need more public hospitals, and this is one way of meeting that. It is additional to all the new construction projects under way and the several hospitals which have been commissioned in various locations. I do not see why anyone would be opposed to this. It will help public patients and the efficiency of our consultants.

With regard to what consultants will say about the industrial relations discussions on their contract, I wish Mark Connaughton and the other participants well over the next few weeks.

Public accident and emergency units are not located in private hospitals. Deputy Rabbitte does himself no good by trying to make the case that we will have accident and emergency units in private hospitals for the first time in the history of the State. We do not have accident and emergency units in Blackrock Clinic, the Mater Private Hospital, the Bon Secours Hospital or the private hospitals in Cork and Waterford. That has never happened nor is it proposed. We are talking about putting public beds into public hospitals and have co-located private beds. That is the proposal.

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