Professor Robert Landers:

To answer the points raised by the Deputy in respect of the retirement of consultants, we expect between 15% and 20% of current consultants to retire in the next five years. That will add to our recruitment problems. It is not just retirements. We anticipate there will be an exodus of younger consultants abroad as a result of the working conditions they are being offered here unless we sort that issue out. In addition, workforce planning indicates that we need an increase of 51% in the number of consultants. That equates to approximately 1,600 extra consultants needed in the system to match the current demand. There is no sign of that happening, apart from some promises in the Sláintecare proposals. We need to recruit significant numbers of consultants, we need to do it fast and we need to do it on attractive terms and conditions to be able to deliver the care required. If that is not done, we will be in very serious trouble.