Mr. Fintan Foy:

I will answer that briefly. The rate-limiting factor to growing the trainee numbers is, as Dr. Farrell said, the access to training posts in hospitals. We are competing for those training posts with all other specialties.

The problem in hospitals is the emphasis on service rather than training. There is an urgent requirement to move service posts to trainee posts. That is a political decision, and then it is a decision that needs to be made locally by the HSE and the hospitals.