Mr. Robert Watt:

There are now 131,000 full-time equivalents in the health system. That figure is up about 10,000 since the beginning of 2020. There is significant recruitment taking place and net increases in staff. Within that, there are people who have left for a variety of reasons. Those may be for the reasons that the Deputy mentioned - they may be leaving to work in other places for better opportunities, better employment or better salaries. Overall, however, the system is able to recruit more staff and to provide better services.

Consistently, of course, there are gaps. We would have liked to have done more recruitment this year than we were able to do. There are gaps in many different areas. I am sure the Deputy is familiar with the areas where there are gaps and staff shortages. The question of salary can be an issue, depending on the area and on the sector. There are other issues involved around working conditions, the physical environment, the hours people are expected to work and so on. There is a variety of different issues.

Pay is constantly kept under review. It is under ongoing review as part of the overall pay agreement. The HSE, as a big employer, is always looking at trends in the workforce, the number of applicants for jobs and the ability to attract people. It is an ongoing concern. Certainly, into the future, as we try to recruit more people, we need to train our own people and provide them with more opportunities. We are providing more opportunities for people to go into medicine, nursing and all the different areas. The number of available college places has increased again for this September. There are plans to increase it further. There is a wide range of issues. Salary can be an issue and we keep a close eye on it as part of an ongoing review.