Dr. Peadar Gilligan:

I will respond to one of the points made by Deputy Durkan. It is a significant point and is part of the reason we are here today. He referenced the public service contract and the drastic and severe cuts to those. The financial emergency measures in the public interest legislation was superimposed on a contract that had never been honoured. Superimposed on that again was a 30% pay cut on all future consultants. Despite our best efforts to have that 30% cut reversed, it has not happened to the extent that it should have. Undoubtedly, that has had a massive effect on morale and on our ability to recruit and retain.

I teach specialist registrars on leadership. Around the time of the 30% cut being announced, I asked what their response would be to it at that stage in their careers. In unison, they said they would leave the profession, and that has come to pass. We have an opportunity to get this right and address the matter. We need to treat people doing the same job with the same qualifications to do that job, and working every bit as onerously as their existing colleagues, the same way. We also need to honour contracts if we want people to feel valued and want to work in the system.