Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE) | Oireachtas source

Thank you very much, a Cheann Comhairle. The first question is about the deal with the private hospitals. The Taoiseach confirmed to me earlier that the estimated cost is €115 million per month for 2,601 beds, which works out at an average of €44,000 per bed. It has been reported in the UK that the NHS deal with private hospitals there is worth £72 million per month for 8,000 beds. That works out at an average of €10,000 per bed. My question is what is the breakdown of the costs. There are 8,000 staff in the private hospitals so that would be €14,000 per person, which means the money is not all going on staff costs. Where is the money going? Is there profiteering? Fundamentally, why does it look as if we are paying four times as much per bed as the British NHS to private companies that are owned by people like Denis O'Brien, Larry Goodman etc.?

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