Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I have been asking myself that question for most of the past ten years and still do not know the answer. Certainly, there seems to be a very weak correlation between additional staff and resources and better outcomes for patients. I could never get to the bottom of it but I intend to have another go at it over the next months. The National Treatment Purchase Fund, NTPF, has been provided with a budget of €15 million for this year and an additional €55 million for next year which will allow people to opt to go private if the public health service is not able to provide for them.

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