James O'Connor (Cork East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I will ask about the retention of medical graduates in Ireland. A recent episode of "RTÉ Investigates" examined the serious issue that we are haemorrhaging well-trained and qualified healthcare professionals to places such as Australia, Canada and New Zealand. I have raised this matter at the committee in that past. Wages and conditions are enormous factors. At some stage, this issue will have to be tackled. I do not mean to be personal about this but the only wage increase of note I have seen within the healthcare structure of this country was for the Secretary General of the Department of Health. That is, quite frankly, unacceptable. If we are going to become serious about trying to fill vacancies for the new roles we are creating, there must be a level of acceptance that we are losing too many of the graduates who are coming out of our medical schools in the University of Galway, the University of Limerick, University College Cork and the colleges in Dublin.

Unfortunately, if you speak to them, they will tell you straight up that from a wages and conditions perspective, they cannot handle it if they are being offered better offers abroad. Is that not worth the additional expenditure? I know it would run well into the hundreds of millions of euro but if you are going to a more effective and efficient healthcare system, what can it not be done? I want to get Mr. Mulvany's perspective on that as interim CEO. Is it something he will look at in this calendar year?