Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Deputy Moynihan's comments are fair. The NTPF is used to drive down waiting times, which is an appropriate way to use it. We will get offers of treatment to anyone waiting over nine months this year which is a significant improvement on which we need to build further. The Deputy is correct. What we need to do in the longer term is elective only hospitals, one for Cork, one for Dublin and one for Galway. They are funded in the capital plan, so the funding is there and we need to get on and deliver them. Looking at other jurisdictions, in Scotland they established an elective-only hospital where they bought what had been a private hospital and converted it to a hospital to drive down waiting lists. They made huge progress and I want to do that in Ireland. I have the funding to do it and there will be hospitals in Cork, Dublin and Galway.

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