Ms Eilísh Hardiman:

I agree that we are in a global market, particularly in regard to some of the paediatric specialties and the reasons people do not come back are multifactorial. We are looking at plans for key worker accommodation because there is a challenge for workers to get affordable housing in Dublin. We are working with Dublin City Council to ensure we have planning policies and options in this area and we are keen to have a sustainable approach to hospitals, which will mean that people will be able to walk or cycle to work rather than having to drive miles to get there. A huge number of talented people have left our system but want to come back. It is great for people to go away but we need to attract them back in and coming back to new and different ways of doing things is attractive for them as they want to be part of making a difference. We need to progress with the transitioning of our clinical services to contemporary ways of working. Digitising our system is one of the ways of doing that as the people to whom I refer work in digital systems internationally and have great ideas. The restoration of pay parity is an issue for us as it is a factor that has been identified.

People want to make a difference to children's lives and staff are very excited about this project. When they go to Connolly Hospital and see how they can lead the way in doing things differently, it is a huge motivational factor. It is hard to keep the motivation when all they see in the media is a focus on costs. We do not trivialise costs but we have an opportunity to attract and retain highly talented, world-class people.