Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Paragraph 4.1 of the HSE statement advises that "clinical directors have put in place monitoring arrangements appropriate to the circumstances of the practice of post-2008 consultants not in the relevant specialist division". How are the monitoring arrangements in place for reading radiology results? Does one person read the information and another read the same film? It strikes me as odd because the qualified person should be reading it in the first place. That seems like double jobbing. Can Ms Mannion explain how that works?

Can the HSE tell us how many of those being paid as consultants but who are not on the specialist register will in the coming four years accrue an entitlement to a contract of indefinite duration? They start to accrue that entitlement from day one. I have represented many beneficiaries of that entitlement but is it flagged up on day one that the person is accruing that entitlement under law? Their entitlement under the law cannot be prevented and neither can they be taken out of the job to frustrate that entitlement.

We know that but what steps are taken to ensure this happens? It strikes me this is an issue that will keep arising for all the reasons we have rehearsed. At the day one stage in the job, does a flag go up? The witnesses might talk me through exactly what is the process between that day and getting to year four, with the monitoring and everything that has to go into place.

There was an article in the media recently stating that doctors who qualified in Sudan, Malaysia and Pakistan no longer have to sit clinical exams. Perhaps the witnesses could advise us on that. If it has been covered already, I am happy to go back over the record as I do not want to delay people unnecessarily.