Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

Sure. We have been talking about this for 20 years and very slow progress has been made. It is just so frustrating. The whole area of social care is being completely downgraded and this is where it is now. If we want to deal with upstream issues, we must invest properly in social care also. Unfortunately, it gets very little attention at a senior level within the Government.

We have spoken about workforce planning and Dr. Molloy has made the point it is not just about numbers. We need to find out the issues that prevent good recruitment and retention of staff. There has been much research done in the area and we are getting a presentation in the next few weeks on consultants. The Irish College of General Practitioners had representatives before us talking about the need to have a working group set up to identify those blockages. We know from research done that the number one reason people do not stay is because they want a proper work-life balance, which is not available to many people within the Irish health service.

They also want a clear commitment from the Government that it is serious about reform, which is not available either. Money is clearly an issue and it is undoubtedly the case that the two-tier pay scale for consultants was very damaging to morale. To a large extent we are moving beyond that now. Witnesses may shake their heads but the Sláintecare contract is now being offered. It offers a very good salary of between €140,000 and €252,000 for regular working hours to provide that kind of work-life balance that so many doctors are seeking. What exactly is the problem with the contract from the perspective of the IMO?