Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)

I will not get into the medical-legal bill. There are many lawyers going around this country dealing with that issue and I will not assist them in any way. The fact that we now have the data, however, is hugely positive. We do not know what the figures were ten years ago because we never measured them so we do not know if it is getting worse. There was an improvement in 2007 over 2006, but I do not want to make a big issue of it so let us see how we do in 2008. One of the big benefits of co-location is that it will give the main public hospitals the capacity for a lot more single rooms and better infrastructure. The sooner that happens the better. I should not be raising issues that stir great excitement in my colleagues opposite, but it is a fact because we will not have the capital funding.

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