Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I agree with Deputy O'Reilly. I have had conversations with the HSE about that and it is clear in its mandate in that regard.

Deputy O'Reilly used the word "disingenuous" and I do not wish to use it back, but perhaps she is choosing not to listen to what I said in that regard. We got funding in last month's budget to hire 1,000 additional people in the community. We are now carrying out the mapping exercise. We are setting up a discrete programme of work in the Department and the HSE to monitor that. I am sure Deputy O'Reilly will, rightly, table a parliamentary question on how many of the 1,000 additional staff have been hired. The answer needs to be 1,000 by 31 December 2020. Whoever is here for budget 2021 - I hope we all are - will need to continue that. I am being very honest. I have asked how many extra staff the HSE believes we need in primary care to achieve the Sláintecare vision and the estimate is approximately 4,000. The next body of work is to map that out across the regional health organisations by specialty as well. That work is ongoing in the Department and in the HSE and the provision of those 1,000 additional posts will be the first real evidence-based example of that.

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