Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

There are a total of 35,163 whole-time equivalents, compared to 34,404 whole-time equivalents in October 2014. As recently as a couple of days ago, an OECD report, which was widely circulated in the media, indicated that we have one of the highest ratios of nursing employment among all of the OECD countries.

We need extra resources, but we also need to improve management. The emergency department task force comprises the people at the heart of the issue, namely, the chief executive of the HSE and the general secretary of the nursing union. They are working together to resolve the situation, which also requires additional resources, beds and staffing. Anybody who has experience of being on a trolley, in particular the elderly or those who have had relatives, children or parents who have been through that experience, know it is a difficult situation. Through the provision of all of these resources, the situation is being invested in and improved upon. A significant number of extra nurses have been employed this year.

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