Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)

We are planning to use the beds we have efficiently and effectively and to have quicker access times for patients. The point made by Professor Drumm — I have made it many times, both here and at the Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children — is that if we do not use the existing stock of beds more efficiently and effectively, no matter what the number of beds is, if we do not get access to diagnostics from GPs so patients do not have to be admitted to hospital to have diagnostic checks carried out, and if we do not manage chronic illness at GP level in the community, people will end up accessing hospital beds.

The decision of the HSE board to pursue co-location was made on the recommendation of Professor Drumm. Competition exists between public hospitals at present. The Deputy is a member of the board of the children's hospital in Tallaght so he does not need me to tell him how competitive it is vis-À-vis the other children's hospitals. In fact, this is one of the reasons there is such controversy attached to creating a single hospital. Competition is no bad thing between service providers, whether they are in the public sector, private sector or a mixture of both.

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