Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I find it very difficult to understand the situation. I am concerned that what is going on is a danger for patients, particularly when doctors must work 72 hours or so without sleep. I am concerned about sleep deprivation and the dangers it brings. I cannot understand why we are bringing in foreign doctors when we have our own doctors here.

The IMO stated that we must match production to replacement value and that while there is no guarantee of the chosen career path of any non-consultant hospital doctor, we should, at the very least, be producing the required number of specialists in Ireland, rather than recruiting them from developing countries in contravention of the World Health Organization guidelines on ethical recruitment. I do not understand how this is working. Will the IMO explain it for the benefit of the committee?