Jerry Buttimer (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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This afternoon's IMO presentation states that NCHDs may instead pursue shorter training overseas under superior conditions with the aim of taking up a consultant post with an overall package of terms and conditions of employment, working conditions and salary levels that are more attractive than in Ireland. This is best exemplified by the IMO boarding pass campaign which saw over 800 NCHDs indicate their intention to leave the Irish health service by signing a symbolic boarding pass to make the point clearly that unless things change there will be more NCHDs in our airports than in our hospitals. That is a fairly strong statement to make to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health and Children. Part of the frustration - we saw the "Prime Time" programme a couple of weeks ago, we read the newspaper and we listened here this afternoon - is we are caught between the shore and the sea. Are there changes happening? This afternoon the committee was told patient care is being jeopardised. If that is the case, all of us are culpable because that should not happen in the health service. I would hope that is not happening.