Mr. Michael Walsh:

To go back to Senator Frank Feighan's question about nurse training, we are training nurses for export. In this country we have treated nurses terribly in recent years. Their wages were cut between 2011 and 2015 to 85% of staff nurses' wages. This caused many nurses to leave the country and they are still leaving. They are being trained here but going out the door the minute they have been trained. They are not even waiting to gain experience. One would normally wait for six months to gain experience, but they are leaving in droves. It must be said the packages in England are very good for anyone who wants to further his or her career. If I were 21 years old again and had just started training, I would be out the door. I would take a prescribing course and a family therapy course. I would have a list of courses to take, but that is not possible here.

The other issue raised was the cap on consultants' pay. Yes, it has had an effect, but consultants are still being taken on by agencies. Some 35% are sent into the area of child psychiatry. As they are still on the same rates as permanent consultants, it is not making any difference. I do not see why they are not put in place and paid properly, the same as their counterparts.

As has been said, consultants are leaving the country in droves. The situation does not make financial sense.