Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)

I am not attempting to fob the Deputy off at all. Nobody is under any illusion about the major challenges posed to many different public services, including the health service, following the retirements that will take place at the end of next month. Contrary to media reports that 40 midwives are due to leave a specific hospital, the figures available to me indicate the total number of midwives nationally who have indicated an intention to take retirement is 34.

The loss of midwives and many other critical front line staff poses a challenge. For this reason, as I indicated, work is under way, following on from the service plan process, to draw up regional service plans taking account of the retirements that have been indicated. Limited funding has been provided to backfill a number of posts, albeit not all of them, and work is under way to identify the posts that need to be filled. In addition, we will use the Croke Park agreement to its fullest to secure the flexibility and redeployment of staff promised under the agreement. This work is taking place as we speak and will continue until the end of February. Notwithstanding the challenges presented by the forthcoming retirements, we are hopeful we will be able to continue to provide a level of service that meets demand and guarantees the safety of patients. These are our priority concerns.

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