Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

It is really important that a cost-benefit analysis be carried out on that within different sectors of the health service. There is a view that private healthcare is more efficient, cheaper and so on but, of course, we know that is not the case in the long run. Even so, we need to have the figures on that.

On the net point about the data on the number of vacancies at 31 December last year, I propose that the committee look for that data as a matter of urgency. The data exists, and while it may not be available to view on the system now, it has to be there. We should look for that. It should be a factual figure. It is not open to negotiation. The question is what the number was at that point. We should look for that because it is key to establishing the base from which we are now operating.

The representatives raised a point, which has been raised previously with us, about people returning from a career break. What are Fórsa's members experiencing in that regard?