Liam Twomey (Fine Gael)

I guarantee the Minister of State that I will continue to pursue the matter until I receive a straightforward answer. I am not finished yet. Given what I said, how could the Health Service Executive write such rubbish? Is the reference to "in a more timely manner" made in the context of a patient travelling between Gorey and Cork, or is it made in the sense that instead of having to wait for six months, one will have to wait for four years, or that instead of having to wait weeks, one will have to wait months to have bowel cancer diagnosed? That is the sort of nonsense written in some of the replies we receive in this House. If that is the policy to be enforced by St. Vincent's University Hospital, is the Health Service Executive stating the funding Dublin hospitals receive for the 15% of patients who historically have come from outside of their catchment areas will be reduced and that the money will be transferred to Waterford Regional Hospital to make up the shortfall in treating patients who will not be seen in a Dublin hospital? The Minister of State must answer that question. It is very easy for hospitals to state they will not see patients from outside their catchment areas, but they have received funding for that purpose for a number of years.