Professor Orla Hardiman:

That is a slightly difficult question to answer because a number of people are in locum posts, while others are funded through the National Treatment Purchase Fund. The total number is 44, as far as I know, or in that order. The number of approved posts is about 34, but some people are in part-time posts, some are locums and others are in the National Treatment Purchase Fund. Under the consultant approval process, there are 34 full substantive posts but some are in the offing and coming forward. In any event, there are not enough.