Ms Martina Harkin-Kelly:

Deputy O'Reilly directly referred to the comment I made in my opening statement about the broken spirit of staff. That is the best possible way to describe morale, and Deputy Buckley may have alluded to the matter as well.

In terms of how the committee can garner credibility, the immediate solution is to attract back the people who have gone to foreign fields. As many as 7,500 nurses have gone to the UK alone. We need to incentivise them. We need better remuneration for nurses here in order to retain them. It costs money to train nurses here and then we export them abroad. We must reconsider their terms and conditions and provide ongoing education, training and evaluation. Last night I attended a meeting and the sense of anomie and helplessness in the room was palpable. We must beat that drum and reiterate it because the message has fallen on the deaf ears of Government. Nurses need incentivised packages to encourage them to return home. It may take the form of providing money for rent, travel expenses, moving or further education over a two-year or four-year span. Whatever form it takes it desperately needs to be done and it needs to be done now.