Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)

The frustration is very obvious. The movement of the organisation to a board type structure and the running of different community-based units and smaller hospitals may ensure budgets are adhered to and priorities are dealt with at that level. However, shortage of staff in one area and an excess in others will not be dealt with by boards. That is clearly a matter which must be managed centrally. That is what the Croke Park agreement is about. We see this not only in County Clare but in many areas of the country. We see a disproportionate number of staff in certain allocated areas and must get down to dealing with that task.

In the psychiatric area we will lose even more staff nurses from the system but one hopes that in the future a different skill set will give us the type of service we want. I thank the Deputy.

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