Mr. Paul Reid:

I reassure the Deputy that this is something on which we are very focused strategically. We take a lot of our inputs from think tank Government policy agencies. The Economic and Social Research Institute, ESRI, most recently published healthcare workforce projections out to 2035. That report was based quite significantly on our own inputs and Department of Health and other policy inputs. It sets out a big strategic direction and has been informing our workforce planning and us putting in place a new dedicated unit within the HSE on strategic recruitment. While I gave numbers earlier, it was to map it out. We did not just work through the past three years and recruit whatever grades we could. We had a plan and a set of percentages by each medical profession and specialty. We achieved in some areas and are down in others but we did not just go at it and get as many as we can. We have had a plan. We take our inputs from the ESRI report for 2035 and the various inputs the Department bring to us.