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

This current issue relates to pancreas transplantation, not kidney transplantation. Dialysis is for kidney treatment and not pancreas problems. The renal unit seems to be working relatively well in Beaumont. Certainly, it has not been the case that any kidneys that could have been transplanted in Ireland were exported or anything like that.

I am not involved in recruitment to individual posts in Beaumont or any other hospital, but I understand the hospital had difficulty filling the post in question. It was advertised and the hospital was unable to get someone. That is an ongoing problem in our health service. What would happen in the private sector is that an organisation would go out and head-hunt someone and pay the person whatever had to be paid, but that is not how the public service works. We do not give market rates to individual people. For various reasons, the public service is different from the private sector in that regard, for better and for worse. Anyway, the important thing now is that the new arrangements are being put in place. It is anticipated that the arrangements will be fully in place within the next couple of weeks.

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