Dr. Colm Henry:

I will not take up much of the Deputy's time. There are over 3,300 consultants in Ireland and off the post-2008 non-specialist register, there are approximately 106, with a third of those in mental health. It is important that patients or people relying on services understand that consultants do not work in isolation but rather as part of a team. They all report to a clinical director, whether or not they are on the specialist register. The difference with the specialist register is that it is a badge of quality following the enactment of the Medical Practitioners Act 2007. It allows us to know that somebody has been trained according to our training schemes and in line with other European Union training schemes.

Based on those site visits that Ms O'Connor referenced, no safety concerns were raised about the practice of these consultants. It is clearly our preference to move towards a position, as outlined in many reports, where we have no junior doctors who are not in training schemes and no consultants who are not on the specialist register. There are considerable challenges for us, not least the fact that these people were delivering unscheduled care in 26 sites around the country. In an environment right across Europe where recruitment is quite difficult, it is becoming increasingly challenging for us to provide unscheduled care on so many sites. There is a context in recruitment that requires understanding, and it is not just being felt here but in other European countries as well.