There have also been substantial improvements in acute services. Of the 3,000 beds committed to in the strategy, 520 were funded in 2002 and the remaining beds will be brought into use shortly. Based on provisional figures provided to my Department by health agencies, for the first 11 months of 2002 there was an average of 12,219 acute hospital in-patient beds available. Considerable progress has been made in reducing waiting times for public patients in 2002. The total number of children waiting for more than six months for in-patient treatment has fallen by 24% between June and September 2002. On the points made by Senator Feighan about cardiac surgery for children, we have made dramatic progress by sending children abroad, with the agreement of the consultant in Crumlin hospital, to Johns Hopkins Hospital in the United States and to England. That has resulted in a dramatic erosion of the waiting list, particularly for children awaiting cardiac surgery, while we are building up capacity in Crumlin in terms of the additional operating theatres.