Mr. Bernard Gloster:

On the issue of assault, which is quite a significant issue based on what is reported on the system, there has been a decrease since 2018. There were 11,674 recorded incidents then and that figure is now down to 9,249. Some of those are associated with very complex inpatient work and so on. In fairness to those patients and staff, nobody would want to be disparaging about that. I have been very clear that there is one thing I will just not accept and that is anybody who believes, regardless of how frustrated they are with the health system, that it is okay to assault a healthcare professional. We will make every effort we can to deal with that.

On the issue of bullying, we have very extensive dignity at work policies. I could rehearse those but I think the Deputy is familiar with them and they are available on our website. A significant amount of training and work goes on to try to train people to work differently with regard to how they manage the grievances staff might have, how they manage staff to get the best from them and creating the right environment for staff.

The reality is that all the policies, procedures and training have to be matched by a parallel change in culture. That is a very significant focus and one of the top three priorities I have set for my tenure as CEO. If we do not treat each other according to the values we claim to espouse as an organisation, we are probably coming up well short for staff.

On bullying, the deliberate, repeated unfair treatment of anybody is abhorrent, certainly to me. We have to be able to manage, performance-manage and challenge people, but these must be done appropriately and respectfully. There is no doubt that bullying can have a lasting and dreadful impact on those who experience it.

On management consulting, I am aware of some of the reports this week. With regard to management consulting in 2022, there are different figures for outsourced services, specialist services, legal fees and so on. However, when stripped back to management consulting, it looks like our expenditure profile will land somewhere between €120 million and €180 million for 2022. There is active analysis in this regard at the moment. Certainly, our dependency will have to be reduced quickly.