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

I note also in the briefing document, in terms of the various enablers referred to, that mention was made of the capacity in the sector and that this needs to be strengthened with additional third-level places. This is an aspect the committee is coming across the whole time. I refer to a lack of staff. In many cases, funding is available but staff cannot be recruited or are not available. This goes back to the lack of workforce planning at the Department or HSE level. There does not seem to be any comprehensive workforce plan at all in the health sector. As an organisation, has the IPU done any work on this aspect? I view this as something which is a key responsibility of the Department of Health, working in conjunction with the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science. Has the IPU done any work on trying to project forward what the needs are likely to be in terms of third-level places? I know many pharmacists, especially those that are local to me, talk about the difficulty in getting time off because they cannot get a locum pharmacist to come in. I wonder what the witnesses' experience of this context has been.