Ms Phil Ní Sheaghdha:

It applies to all staff. The point we are making is that a pause of this nature will have an effect on those grades that comprise a third of the workforce because the turnover happens more regularly. The budgeting is the reason. We are told that last year's overrun cannot recur this year. All recruitment is being stopped as a very crude instrument until the budget is brought down. I understand the relevant number at the moment is approximately 350. That is what the target has become. I will explain how the pause, which is affecting the front-line service, is manifesting itself. Some of the bed numbers that currently exist have been reduced. More importantly, we now have extra capacity on wards. We record that on a daily basis. As well as having additional trolleys in accident and emergency departments, there are additional trolleys on wards. I will mention an example of the reduced volume of workers that was given to us as late as last evening. Four nurses were supposed to be going on night duty, but instead there were just two. They should have had 28 beds, but instead they had 32 because of additional trolleys. It is simply not possible to provide any level of safe care in that environment. That is not an isolated incident.