Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Minister has the budget to be able to recruit significant numbers of nurses. There is a pressure point here because nurses coming out of training from the 13 centres in Ireland are very much in demand because of their quality, integrity and capability, and Deputy Martin knows this. I happened to be in NUI Galway recently at a graduation, and all 60 nurses who came through the graduation are staying in Ireland. We have 13 centres for providing nurse training and, as Deputy Martin is aware, they are under pressure from opportunities being offered in Great Britain, the Middle East and Australia. It is always a real challenge. The Minister and the HSE were disappointed that they did not get the numbers they thought they might to come back, but they are working on it very assiduously.

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