Mr. Peter McLoone:

It was evident to us that, during the period of the moratorium, the demand for services did not diminish. In fact, demand increased. The Sláintecare report referenced the issue of the ageing population. Recent years provide all the evidence required to show that demand for services has increased, which has created the stress the Deputy referred to when he spoke about his experience. It is hard to quantify the need from our perspective, and this is why we put such emphasis on the need for workforce planning. It would allow us to define the services required and to engage with the resources required, be they nursing, medical, ancillary or support staff, or other skills.

It is clear that we are just over 2,000 short of the number of nurses that were in place in 2010. There were 39,000 in 2010, and we currently have just over 37,000, despite all of the initiatives that have been taken.

We have a way to go to get back to where we were, but I am sure if we got back to that figure, there would still be an argument that it was not sufficient to meet our current and future needs.