Dr. Sally Ann Lynch:

No, they are not available here. We do not train up genetic counsellors. There is no training programme in Ireland for genetic counsellors although we can access those trained in the UK or elsewhere. With regard to consultants it is very difficult. We are trying to get locums. I have been emailing every contact throughout Europe, Australia, the US and Canada. I have been emailing anybody I know from meetings. We really struggle to get anybody. Language is a barrier in Europe. Many people who have the same training as me and who have good English would feel uncomfortable trying to discuss things with patients. People need a command of English that makes them very comfortable in these circumstances.

This morning, I have been emailing human resources in Crumlin because the chair of the British Society for Genetic Medicine has offered to put an advertisement for another locum on its website. We are desperate. They are just not in Ireland, forget it. This is why linking with Northern Ireland is so important. We must remember that every one of the six geneticists in Northern Ireland trained there. This is why it has six. We did not train because it is an enormous effort to set up a training scheme and it is slow because it takes four years to train. We have trained three. One remains abroad and one is coming back to Holles Street so there might be a fourth person by the end of the year. It is very difficult to recruit.