Ms Caroline Spillane:

Senator Burke asked about the total number of practising consultants at present. As I stated previously, 18,000 doctors are on the medical register, the vast majority of whom work full time in this country. There are 7,000 doctors on the specialist division of the register. The register holds information about the area of specialty in which doctors operate but not the posts they hold. This information is held locally by employers such as the HSE.