Professor Malcolm MacLachlan:

I would agree with the comments about the panel system and the importance of retention but there is a very basic issue as well, namely, we are not producing enough graduates. As stated by Ms O'Connor, we have people leaving the country. There needs to be a fundamental step change in the number of graduates we produce. For instance, some of our children's disability network teams, CDNTs, have vacancy rates of up to 50%. This relates very much to the point made earlier by Deputy Cairns with regard to the ability of the system to respond with the level of service that we would like. We need an appropriate pipeline of supply.

This is not something we can address in a couple of months. Deputy Murnane O'Connor stressed the importance of having an honest conversation about it. To have an honest conversation we need to recognise that changing the pipeline of supply is going to take a number of years, so it is not something that can be fixed very quickly. We are committed to the multidisciplinary approach and we very much welcome the representation of the different professional bodies that were mentioned. I am aware that representations have been made to the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, about looking at how we can create a step change in the number of people coming through the pipeline. It is not just resourcing. The resources are there, but we do not have the people to take up the resources. Without that pipeline, our ability to provide true multidisciplinary interventions and to change at the rate we would like will be severely compromised.