Mr. Tony O'Brien:

As regards mental health posts and the 414 new posts in the 2012 service plan, all bar a handful have been filled and they relate to areas of particular disciplinary shortage. With regard to the 477 posts in the 2013 plan, 180 posts remain in process and the vast bulk of them will be filled fairly quickly. Between 250 and 280 have been identified in the 2013 plan because the exact mix of posts will influence the numbers that can be afforded. We will shortly publish the operational plans by division and they will have more details on the matter.

Members were correct to say that staff shortages is one of the impacts that followed the various voluntary exit programmes implemented in the early days of the financial crisis. It was voluntary in the sense that one could put one's hand up and avail of an incentivised early exit programme or a grace period exit. Many staff who left were from the very areas that we are prioritising for development. That is why the figures are what they are. We are playing catch-up, to some extent, in some of the areas. Unfortunately, there is no getting away from that fact that many of the staff were part of the more than 12,000 staff who left.

I shall ask my colleague, Ms McGuinness, to comment on the performance indicator. The palliative care budget will be centralised and led by a single national director, Mr. Ian Carter. He will be the national director for acute care. The choice was made because there is a need to move some palliative-type care out of acute settings and into appropriate palliative care settings. Giving one person control of the two budgets is considered to be a positive move. No budget will be at the same level in 2014 as it was at the opening point in 2013 due to the effects of the Haddington Road agreement and other equitable share-outs. There has been no specific real cut to the palliative care budget and there is no intention to go in that direction.

I shall ask Ms McGuinness to respond to Deputy Fitzpatrick's questions on home care but I shall respond to the questions on outpatients. We have accelerated the pace of access for patients. Nonetheless, it is our intention, probably, to reduce the overall level of attendance. The change is due to a disproportionate number of repeat attendance versus first attendance. The matter was sought to be addressed in the cancer space as far back as Professor Keane's time here when there was a never-ending cycle of repeat attendance and thus limited clinical value. We want to see a greater proportion of first attendance being part of the access programme. We do not want people pursued relentlessly with follow-up appointments that are beyond the point of clinical relevance.

Deputy Mitchell O'Connor asked a question on BreastCheck. As she may know, I was appointed director of BreastCheck at a certain point in my career and, with a heavy heart, it was left out of the service plan. It is something that we will seek to include again as soon as it is practicable to do so, not least because it is a priority in the programme for Government.

I ask my colleague, Dr. O'Keeffe, to comment on obesity which is a central part of the health and well-being agenda.