Mr. Pat Healy:

The big issue is not so much the challenging nature of the job. We have a hugely dedicated workforce and a large number of people want to get into it. One of the issues we have is training sufficient staff so that we can maintain the workforce. We have our training college, NASC, which I referenced earlier. There are 96 students going through that every year and with an additional 24, that will rise to 118. However, almost half of those who are trained are required to maintain current numbers, given retirements and so on. One of the key objectives in the development plan will be to make sure we develop our workforce planning processes and our education and training processes to train sufficient paramedics and specialist staff to be able to fill those roles. That is one of the key challenges for us going forward. We have approval for 2,655 staff. We are currently at about 2,425 and are challenged at times, in particular parts of the country, to fill posts. That is a key priority for us going forward and it will be an important part of the next three- to five-year plan. We have made progress. The development of the college in Cork will be in addition to that so there will be 24 additional students coming in. That is really important but we need to continue that upward trajectory.