Dinny McGinley (Donegal South West, Fine Gael)

Why can we not have an agreement like that? When I go to a hospital, such as Letterkenny Hospital, some patients are private and some are public. If one wants to go private in a public hospital, one gets in immediately but if one wants to use the public system, one waits for a year or two. It is a mess.

I may be naive. I have been fortunate that the only time I was ever in hospital was when I had my tonsils removed at 12 years of age. I am not sure if it was public or private treatment, but I have needed no more hospitalisation since then. Why can we not differentiate between the public and private systems? It is a simple question. While it may not be solvable, if I were Minister, I would try to come up with a solution like that.

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