Mr. Jim Ryan:

Panels are not an issue for child psychiatrists because they are used for specific posts for which one must go through the Consultant Applications Advisory Committee. Nursing panels remain generic. At various times we have tried both local and generic recruitment. The benefit of a national panel is that there is only one panel, while the disadvantage is that somebody might say he or she wants to work only in Limerick or Dublin and may wait until such time as a vacancy arises. Meanwhile, the panel is paused and there are challenges in that regard. We have put in place a structure whereby if a recruiter cannot hire someone from a national panel, recruitment can be made through a bespoke local panel.