Ms Phil Ní Sheaghdha:

No. Additional beds are being placed on wards because of the volume of dependent people. The staffing of those beds known as "surge beds" is a mixture of agency staff, which is very costly, and very poor staffing numbers. According to the last figure we had, just under 460 beds are closed throughout the country. We know from the Sláintecare and ESRI reports that we are down approximately 2,000 acute beds, based on the projected need and the fact that community services have not been developed to provide an alternative to acute hospitals. The Deputy asked what happens when people on career break are refused the right of return. Invariably, they will work as agency staff. In some instances, they will be employed through agencies. In other instances, they do not work as a nurse for a period of time or they go to the private sector. The point is that all of this is nonsensical.