Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The question then is "When?". We know there is not much competition for open posts. Between 2015 and 2016, a total of 44 consultant psychiatrist posts were advertised. A quarter of them did not even attract one applicant and another 30% of posts had only one applicant. We know that many hospitals are running out of specialists. In Kerry, for example, they are running out of any individual consultant to provide services in histopathology, rheumatology and urology in some of the more rural hospitals.

Sláintecare requires consultants. The national children's hospital will require consultants. Serious pressure is being put on the system justifying the specialists to fill the satellite centres for launch in one or two months' time. As I said, the question is "When?" We need to ramp up the number of consultants all over the country, not just in the big hospitals.

Can the Minister provide a broad outline of when he expects the process to be concluded and pay disparity to be addressed, rather than when he hopes the process will start? When might the consultants see a solution to pay disparity implemented?

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