Mr. Aaron Mullaniff:

It is difficult to answer. We have looked at Eurostat for our information as to how Ireland is faring across Europe.

The IMO’s recommendation is 147 and our finding was 41. In saying that, one could look at other European counterparts and may find that the Danes, for instance, have an extremely low number of eye doctors but the majority of eye care is delivered in the community. They are engaging optometrists, orthoptists and ophthalmic technicians at the top of their profession. Because it is working there, they do not require a significant number of eye doctors. Therefore, a nuanced answer is required. There has been some recruitment within the community that has been quite successful of late. Grangegorman is an example where we have community-based ophthalmologists. I cannot answer whether those roles are less attractive. In light of the moratorium also being in place, that compounds the issue as well.