Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

One of the things we must do is treat our non-consultant hospital doctors much better than we currently do. I do not believe the current training path they are asked to pursue on their way to becoming consultants is appropriate. It needs to be completely changed. I met recently with a group of NCHDs and I was shocked by what they told me about their reality. They have to travel around the country every year for potentially ten years and are not supported in doing so. Their working week is far too long and they do not receive some basic supports that they should receive. On the back of that meeting, I contacted the Irish Medical Organisation, IMO, and have invited it in for talks. I have asked the Department to put together for me an approach for how we do this. We must start by listening very carefully to the doctors themselves. I heard a lot of things last week that are simply not acceptable.

We have already taken some measures. The Deputy may be aware that last year I removed the restriction on non-EU NCHDs training as specialists. We need to keep moving with that. We also need to significantly increase the number of training posts. We do not have enough. This is tied in with an increase in the number of consultants. Ireland has one of the lowest, if not the lowest, ratio of specialists to population in the EU. It is not acceptable. We need a significant increase in our consultant workforce.

I understand Deputy Kenny is referring mainly to NCHDs. We need to see serious change in how they are treated, their conditions of work and the training opportunities available to them in order that they can lead a decent and reasonable life in the six, eight or ten years they are training to be specialists. Too many of them do not have that opportunity based on what is asked of them.