Mr. Liam Woods:

I was referring specifically to the recruitment process for consultants, which we have looked at streamlining but it still takes quite some time. The recruitment process more generally has substantively accelerated to bring in those 3,200 posts. In fact, that number of posts would equate to closer to 4,000 people. The system, therefore, has been seeking to take on everybody it could. Where individuals have experienced delays, that may sometimes be because of issues regarding Garda clearance or similar matters. We have certainly sought, however, to accelerate the recruitment process, and the intention in both the hospital and community system overall was to bring on board as many healthcare workers as was achievable to face what was, at that time, an unknown surge level.