Ms Phil Ní Sheaghdha:

We have a target of 700 advanced nurse practitioners.

We are about halfway with that, at just over 300 at the moment. Funding for advanced nurse practitioner training has been committed to us as part of our strike settlement. In response to an earlier question from Deputy Durkan which I did not answer, we are waiting to see how much that budget allocation will be because we have not been advised about the allocation of that money as yet. We have been given information regarding the allocation of funds for the winter plan, but not concerning funds from the budget in respect of specific nursing posts.

We are looking to the Department of Health to ensure that the target of 700 is met and met on time. In addition, we have a requirement for clinical nurse specialists. They train in Ireland, and up to about five years ago there was a body to register and accommodate training. That has now been removed, and clinical nurse specialists find it very difficult to get employment, as clinical nurse specialists, when they move from place to place, despite having the qualifications. A tidy up needs to be done, therefore, but there is also a need to look at the roles and expertise of advanced nurse practitioners.

We know that where and when they work, for example, their statistics regarding hospital avoidance are quite extraordinary. It is the same in respect of our community intervention teams. We are very glad to see that there is some focus on community intervention teams for hospital avoidance in the winter plan and we must ensure that translates into additional clinical nurse specialists and advanced nurse practitioners in the community, and not just focusing on hospital settings.