Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I understand and I am coming to that. From my conversations with the public health doctors, it is not all they talk about. What is important to them is that they have the resources and teams they currently do not have. It is just as important, from what I am hearing from them, that we give them the teams and staff they need.

Several hundred interviews are happening now. This real and it is live. Is there going to be a public health consultant contract? Yes, there is, and the exact mechanism for how that will work must be worked out between the Irish Medical Organisation, IMO, and the Department or Government. That process is under way. The business case for all of it is with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. I have given a commitment that there will be consultant contracts. The IMO has a view on the exact mechanism and how it works. We must respect that and go through that process. I understand the frustration of the people in question. My understanding is that they really do not want to go out on strike, particularly during a pandemic. I certainly-----