Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am disinclined to comment in detail on the study because I have not had a chance to read it; I have only seen online coverage today. I would speculate that if one did a similar survey on many other professions one might get a very similar result. It has always been the case that people migrate, something which is truer now than ever before. We have a long history of doctors migrating to Ireland and from Ireland to other parts of the world, sometimes to get experience with a view to coming back. Others want to work in international centres such as the Mayo Clinic or the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, which will never exist in Ireland.

It is important that we achieve an equilibrium so that similar numbers come in and leave. That requires remuneration, and we now have agreement on consultant pay with the IMO, with new salaries being offered. A left-led Government could propose to impose high taxes on people earning over €100,000. That, along with the risk of pay being capped at €100,000 or a 60% tax rate above €100,000, is a potential threat to our health service and would certainly leave patients at risk.

We need to improve the experience of working in our health service. It is a difficult place to work for many people - not just doctors but other health staff. The fact that doctors will know their rotations two years in advance is very important. They will know where they will live in six months' time. It is a simple thing which is now being done. The fact that they will have dedicated protected training time when they are off-bleep is very important. A lot more can be done in those spaces.

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