Mr. Kieran Smyth:

Before I get into the cross-border health care directive, I wish to point to the common travel area and the associated rights that are covered so well in the opening statement. It is really important to understand that the dimensions of this concern not only health, but also travel, education, rights to study and so on. It is really important to understand the significance of that for the health system for Ireland, the EU and, indeed, the UK.

Senator Colm Burke is right about the cross-border directive. The directive's focus in terms of Ireland is on Northern Ireland and the UK. One thing we need to do in the context of the common travel area with the UK is to see whether we could put an alternative arrangement in place. We also need to look at other countries. As a result of the fact that I work in the international unit, I deal not only with Brexit but also with international engagement more generally. Therefore, we deal regularly with ambassadors from other EU countries and we would certainly be very minded to look to see whether there could be opportunities in other EU member states for us to have health arrangements.

Regarding the issue of training and so on that was raised, workforce planning is a global issue. The World Health Organization predicts a global deficit of 18 million skilled health workers by 2030. I think the common travel area will be very important in this regard. It should facilitate a continuance of training arrangements. That is very important. The Department produced a national strategic framework for health and social care workforce planning. It is a key feature of the issue of recruitment and retention of staff.

I hope that clarifies the points raised. If there is anything else I-----