Mr. Ted Kenny:

It will if the numbers in the NAS and DFB are increased significantly but the problem throughout all of the health sector is the recruitment and shortage of staff. Not only has the NAS a problem in recruiting staff but we also have a retention problem. This is why there is a job in hand in the NAS in terms of roles and responsibilities. I have been dealing with the NAS as an official for the past 25 or 26 years. It is only recently that I took over the role of sector organiser dealing nationally with the Irish Ambulance Representative Council, IRAC, and the sectoral committees in trying to resolve those issues. We hope that the roles and responsibilities will be finalised next week.

There are not many people who are interested in becoming paramedics right now. Two issues are affecting this, the first of which is bad press about long distances. Why would anyone want to do a shift of 15, 16 or 17 hours? Why would anyone want to join an organisation where he or she cannot get meal breaks? These are fundamental issues. Another is that the rates of pay attached to the NAS have fallen far behind other health professionals' rates. The job in hand in respect of roles and responsibilities will address that. I hope that it will be accepted by the HSE, the Department of Health, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and the Government and that, whatever comes out of that work on roles and responsibilities, it will be supported by the Government in order to allow us to grow capacity within the NAS. It is all incorporated.