David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I would like to come back to the radiation therapy issue.

This jumped out from the opening statement. Ms Power stated that while wait times for radiation therapy have increased, expensive equipment is lying idle in hospitals due to an ongoing shortage of radiation therapists. It really drives people mad when we have equipment but do not have the staff to operate it. Why, in the witnesses' view, is there a shortage of staff? Is it because we have not recruited enough people? Are we not training enough people? Is there a shortage in this area? Is it back to workforce planning? What is the cause? Is the current recruitment freeze also hindering recruitment in these areas? I will leave it at that and let the witnesses respond.