Mr. Barry O'Brien:

This was an area where registered general nurses in the community were undertaking certain specific duties more associated with the public health nurse. It was only paid for the duration when the registered general nurse in the community was directly replacing a public health nurse. This happened in 55 instances and it cost the HSE €172,000 in 2011. With the change in the way we deliver our community services and with new models of care, the registered general nurse will become much more common in the community. On that basis we do not propose to pay the allowance to any new registered general nurse who is carrying out public health nursing duties in the community.