Over the past four years, my understanding is that an extra 16,000 people have been recruited and are now working in the HSE. That is compared to December 2014. While there has been a 24% increase in administration and management staff, there has been only a 3.7% increase in the number of public health nurses. Can we be given a figure as to the increase in public health nurses that is going to happen over the next 12 months? Although my colleague has given the impression that the whole health service has collapsed, the number of outpatient appointments has not decreased. The number of day care procedures has not decreased. The number of operations happening per week, per month and per annum have not decreased. The witnesses would probably agree with that. If anything, the numbers in all areas have increased. In case people get the concept that there are 118,000 people in the HSE sitting around doing nothing all day, that is not the position. They are all working very hard. However, I want to raise the issue of access to diagnostics by GPs. As regards people having to be referred in to accident and emergency departments to get access to diagnostics, what proactive work has been done? We want to keep care in the community and away from the hospital. What has been done to make diagnostic services available to GPs in a faster timescale than currently is available?

I have raised the issue of dieticians consistently over the last three or four years and nothing has been done on it. We have a system whereby if a nursing home patient requires advice or consultation with a dietician, he or she has to be taken in to the hospital. What are we doing to have dieticians call to nursing homes once every month or two to reduce the overall cost of this? If a patient has to be taken into a hospital to see a dietician, the likelihood is that two staff from the community hospital or whatever have to travel with them. There is a significant cost and time factor. It is a very simple issue where work can be done in the community rather than in a hospital. I would like to hear answers on the three issues I have raised.