Ms Phil Ní Sheaghdha:

If Deputy Durkan is asking what is the proportionate increase, these are the HSE figures that are on the record: the number of consultants increased during that period by 172 and the number of registrars increased by 183. The biggest increase in the number of nurses was in the student nurse category and there were decreases in other categories. We know, for example, that the increase in the clerical and administrative grades, which my colleagues here represent, was 276. In the higher management grades, it was 309 for the same period that is reported upon. From a nursing point of view, we think that 125 in the staff nurse category does not come near what is required. It does not even replace those who are on maternity leave.

Those who are on maternity leave, for example, make up 3% of the entire workforce because 95% of nurses are women. We know we do not have enough replacements for maternity leave currently. What happens when a nurse is on maternity leave? The remainder work short.