Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)

I completely agree with the Deputy. Looking at the number of diagnostic scanners and machines in public systems, we have 550 scanners of different forms, including 62 CT scanners, 28 MRI scanners and so on, but it is about the use of them. One of the things we need to consider is how we might use the scanners available in a complementary local injury unit sitting alongside a hospital and how we can maximise the use of all of those diagnostics in different ways. That is another opportunity to expand capacity. I happened to be in County Mayo, and we were talking to staff about how that might be better integrated. In theory, the machines are capable of being used 24 hours per day. That is obviously unrealistic, but you would like to get to the point where they are being used for between12 and 14 hours per day at a minimum. That is entirely dependent on the staff and the way in which it is organised, and the Deputy correctly identified the shortage there. It is important to make sure, as we go hospital by hospital, that everyone is using the deployment of those staff in the most efficient way. I see examples of great improvement on that, and I hope to be able to report more thoroughly to the House after the series of regional meetings in January.

See this speech in context