Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

There are two Ukrainian GPs in county Clare and a similar number of dentists. We have an obstetrician. They are all eager to practise but are finding it very convoluted to get to practise. As I said at the start of my contribution, Clare is 33% below required GP coverage when compared with other counties. It would make an enormous difference to have them operating in the community. Even if it were just to provide a medical service to their own people in their own language it would be immense.

Nurses often tell us how difficult the job is with conditions leading to burn-out. A few years after entering general nursing, many of them want a pathway out of it. They go overseas, seek promotion, try to become a GP practice nurse or find some other pathway out of the ward system. Is there logic to having an accelerated course if a nurse wishes to become a medical doctor apart from the postgraduate training courses currently on offer? If someone has spent seven, ten or 15 years in the ward system in an acute environment with all that incredible skills set - doctors might not like me saying this - I believe they could probably do everything a doctor can do apart from writing prescriptions.

I know there are two conflicting realms here, but surely there should be an accelerated pathway for somebody who has the desire, after years of nursing experience, to become a doctor. I apologise to any doctors tuned into this.