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

I warmly welcome the decision by the Cabinet this morning to approve the public-only consultant contract. It is a very important breakthrough. As we know, that proposal was a key element of Sláintecare. I hope it will now clear the way for the filling of the 900 vacant posts within hospitals and, most importantly, clear the way for the introduction of timely access to care for public patients who are so dependent on having fully staffed hospitals. It will also enable us to set the targets for maximum waiting times for procedures in hospitals, again as set out in Sláintecare. Assuming that the representative bodies are fully on board in regard to this, what now is the timescale for commencing the recruitment of those additional posts? Could the witnesses confirm how many additional consultant posts are funded in next year's budget?