Kevin Humphreys (Dublin South East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

No, other than the fact that it is anticipated there will be a core team of between five and ten nurses who will be employed by the Department to conduct triage and desk assessments and provide opinions for guidance to the Department's deciding officer to help determine entitlements in respect of various high-volume schemes. There is not a backlog within the Department but we always have to plan and be prepared.

Deputy Ó Snodaigh asked about nurses and consultation. The Department's chief medical officer met with the Office of the Chief Nursing Officer in the Department of Health. There has been some discussion on this issue.

It may be my age group in many ways but the nurse looks at the nursing profession in a different manner. The profession has changed so radically over the past decades in terms of training and experience. It is a very high standard profession with a lot of hands-on experience. I am not degrading general practitioners, but in many cases they would not have that. I think nurses will be a real addition to the Department and will make it much more effective. I welcome Deputy Ó Snodaigh's comments on this. It is actually quite a progressive move.