Willie O'Dea (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)

No, we have already examined that, as did successive Ministers. This is a problem that has bedevilled the Army for years through successive Administrations. None of us has managed to sort it out. Consider the number of doctors retiring over the years and the number we can get to replace them. Of the 24 doctors we have at present, eight of them are foreign nationals. There is nothing wrong with that, of course, but it illustrates the difficulties we have. We are trying to get it right. It is important that we do that and get the most comprehensive consultants' report possible. I expect to have that within the next few weeks.

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