David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I have that point, and it is a valid point.

I want to come back to the central point that has been made by all of the witnesses here, which is the suppressing of posts. I am looking at Ms Ní Sheaghdha's own opening statement. Some 2,000 nursing and midwifery posts have effectively been abolished. For listeners, people watching and those worried about what is happening in hospitals, what was the status of those 2,000 posts before they were abolished? Were they posts that were advertised and not filled, or where contracts were not signed? Were they to replace staff who had left? What was the status of those 2,000 posts at the point when they were abolished?