Colm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank all the guests here and all the health staff for their contribution and real commitment and dedication to their jobs over the past 12 months. They went way beyond the call of duty. I know this full well because members of my family were involved in the healthcare sector in a number of different areas.

I will start by asking just three or four questions. The first is to Ms Ní Sheaghdha. She spoke at the very start about the failure to respond quickly enough to the demands of the nursing staff. Nursing staff are on the front line. They know sooner than anyone else when change is required. I was looking at the HR report from the HSE. There are 7,800 nurse managers. Nurses, obviously, will go to the nurse managers. Is it the case that nurse managers are not getting the response quickly enough from the administrative level of the HSE to make the changes that are required?

My second question concerns nurses who have retired from the system and now want to get back in. I understand that the Nursing and Midwifery Board is looking for a fee of €350 for such nurses to re-register. Has the INMO engaged with the Nursing and Midwifery Board on this issue? It sounds like an extremely high charge to impose on people who want to come back in and give assistance at present, when there are huge demands.

My third question concerns consultants. We have seen the figures for the number of GPs who are due to retire over the next few years. There are around 600. Have we any idea of the number of medical consultants who are to retire over the next three to five years? Are there particular areas where we do not even have people in training to fill those vacancies? The second issue I wish to ask the consultants about concerns the number of specialist registrars who are in training at present. What is the total number per annum across all areas who are in training? What kind of increase do we need to put in place in order that we have an adequate number of people to take on the vacancies as they arise?

Finally-----