Ms Colette Cowan:

Yes, and the Chairman had a similar question. The most important issue with graduate nurses is to capture them before they leave the country. In previous years we were slow at that and the young graduates would go to the UK and other places very quickly. The UK would send people here to interview them. We have put a process in place now. They are upwardly mobile young people who want to travel the world at some point in their career. We offer them permanent contracts with opportunities to take a career break within them. In the past week, three of them have contacted University Limerick hospitals group to come back from their travels after their career breaks. At least we are ensuring they will come back to a post here. From talking to intern students and having the personal history of students qualifying, they would say they are wary of permanent contracts but they will take them if they are offered. They are not interested in going straight into higher diploma education because they have just finished four years in college but they will do it two years' hence. They have a big problem with accommodation. They cannot get accommodation when they qualify or they cannot afford accommodation and they cannot travel from home because they cannot get access to transport in rural areas or they cannot get a driver test. These are clear problems for these young people, as I am sure they are in other sectors.

When we surveyed them they said they needed support when they come onto the floor and training to deal with the real front-line pressures. That is what turns them off sometimes and makes them leave the country. They need support to deal with public expectation because they are the first point of contact when people are under pressure. Also, there is a professional expectation of them and, in my view, one must mind them for the first 12 months and then offer them the higher diplomas or whatever they wish to do. They do not know in the first year after they come out of college into what they wish to expand. I believe we must incentivise them to stay through accommodation, transport and the like. That is not just nurses but professionals at every level in the country. As I said earlier, there is the same issue with trying to attract consultants back into the country. We need to make some other offering to get them to come back and work in our services. That will solve the waiting lists, theatre problems, opening of beds and so forth because our own staff will be retained.