Mr. Tony O'Brien:

While I am happy to provide the Chairman with an explanation, I cannot tell him anything about the organisation of the company on the basis of the information available to me here. I can tell him that in certain circumstances where we simply are not able to attract candidates to fill certain roles, we are left with two options. We can leave those roles vacant, with significant operational and clinical risk ensuing for the patients in a hospital group that, as we already know, has been subject to full and ongoing review by HIQA because of issues that have arisen there in the past, or we can take the only available options. I must tell the Chairman this is not an isolated issue. In many instances, the HSE is dependent on clinical consultants, who are paid per annum in excess of that amount, employed through agencies because at present that is the only way we can fill those roles.