Dr. Matthew Sadlier:

Second, with regard to proper working conditions and motivation, the working balance, motivation and quality of life in hospital for a junior doctor working in Ireland are particularly poor. On pay issues, Ireland is now the lowest paying country in the English speaking medical world, which is where we compete for doctors. Ultimately, doctors do not choose whether to work in Ireland or Finland but whether to work in Ireland or the UK, Canada or Australia. Of those areas, at specialist levels we are significantly lower paid than is the case in the UK and this has been a huge problem in recruiting from overseas. If one is coming from a very long distance away, one does not necessarily see a huge difference between a small town in Ireland and a small town in England.

The last question was about alcohol. We have published our paper on alcohol. I will conclude with that.