I propose to take Questions Nos. 843 and 886 together.
The Government remains committed to increasing capacity in the public system and until that capacity is in place to meet the increased levels of demand, it’s appropriate that we make use of all available additional capacity in the public and private systems to ensure that patients have access to the care they need.
In April this year, I requested the HSE CEO to undertake a detailed survey of all insourcing activity within the HSE. The report has been received and was published by me on 1 July.
My Department is working with the HSE to consider the report in the context of moving away from our dependency on the current model and maximising the internal capacity we have within the core health system, while ensuring that patients have timely access to the treatment they need.