Mr. Bernard Gloster:

Sure. I will make two or three points, some of which I addressed in the same radio interview. There is no doubt there is a connection in certain parts of the country between our capacity to recruit people and their ability to access accommodation. To be fair, that is a public sector-wide issue in parts of the country for gardaí, teachers and so on. That is the first thing. Second, we have to be open to the possibility of assisting staff in future but it takes careful consideration. I have identified three groups that might be considered in that context. The first are nurses coming from abroad, of which we will recruit 1,400 this year, and trying to see what assistance can be offered to them in the early stage of their stay here. The second group, and probably the one that is most disadvantaged, are junior doctors and non-consultant hospital doctors, NCHDs, on six-month rotations. Trying to find accommodation in parts of Ireland every six months is a serious challenge at present. The third group is students, including student nurses and so on.

I do not wish to pass the parcel, but I am more of the view that we are already in discussion with the Land Development Agency, LDA, to give it substantial portions of certain lands that are on health campuses, which have not been built on and that it is interested in. I hope that in return for that the LDA would somehow comprehend the healthcare workforce population in the areas where it is developing accommodation. We are not closed to the idea but we are far from saying we have developed something.

I happen to know Inis Ghile very well. I opened it as the first HSE facility for people being decongregated from St. Joseph's psychiatric hospital in 2003. While Inis Ghile could potentially be looked at, the problem is, on any equity basis, what 19 people would accommodation be given to? There are implications to decisions like that which we make. I do not know what the chief officer's plans are for Inis Ghile but I will certainly establish that. I will come back to the Deputy. To be fair, it is a very valid question as to why the facility is still empty.