Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

I share with the Deputy the focus on ensuring that our health infrastructure, including radiation oncology machines or building better bed capacity across our health system, is achieved in the next five years. That is the work we are doing with the sectoral investment plan with the HSE to ensure we replace the equipment that is required and build additional capacity.

We are now funding a public health system which should become less reliant on the private health system over the next series of years in terms of outsourcing and some of what the Deputy referenced. I want to commend the enormous work and leadership of many people in our health system who have transformed outcomes. It is important, when we talk about the national cancer strategy, to note it is a strategy that has worked. It is delivering improved outcomes. Looking at the data over two to three decades, we have had a transformational improvement in that area over the last number of years. I will ask the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, to respond to the Deputy's specific question about radiation oncology. I believe there is significant scope over the next five years, through the investment we have put aside in the national development plan, to have a significant replacement programme for a lot of the health equipment which is required.

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