Mr. Liam Woods:

Of course, I can.

A number of issues related to staffing were raised. I will address them by making reference to the actions already taken and intended actions, both in respect of recruitment, training, support and retention strategies. Prior to the creation of the office, the HSE had undertaken the Birthrate Plus study which was a review of the number of midwives in each of the 19 facilities across the country. It has invested in 100 midwives to deal with identified deficiencies by site. That was done in the past 12 months and if it is helpful, we can provide lists indicating where they were allocated. It was done with a view to having the total numbers of midwives required for the safe delivery of clinical services. The latest information I have is that 88 of the 100 midwives are in place.

There was a wider point about recruitment and the approach of the HSE to dealing with the impact of the moratorium, retirements and replacements. There is no moratorium or set rules operating within the HSE. I take the point about the effect of the moratorium and removing posts during the time of austerity which had an unbalancing effect within the overall system. The Birthrate Plus midwife numbers reviews sought to address it. A midwife who leaves service can now be replaced within the current complement.