Mr. Liam Woods:

The Deputy is right in saying that there is a challenge in recruiting consultants. It is going through the consultant recruitment process in the next couple of weeks. The timescale to recruit a consultant of that specialism could be up to 12 months. Children's Health Ireland and the HSE are very aware of that. The immediate actions which Children's Health Ireland can take relate to the balance of the multidisciplinary team, which can support patients and families. The advanced nurse practitioner is very important in that regard.