Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I have been in touch with Dr. O'Connor who I have a lot of time for. As I said on a number of occasions, the plan for the doctors and other healthcare professionals who came home - and the category who did not come home but were planning on leaving and could not because of Covid - is to try to offer as many of them posts in the Irish health service as possible. That does not mean - I cannot be disingenuous here - people will be required in the posts that they are currently in. However, there is an opportunity here to hire a significant number of non-consultant hospital doctors, NCHDs, and to increase the number of training places. I believe there are currently more people here than there are training places available. The CEO of the HSE said very clearly this afternoon that he wanted to look at providing additional training places for them to pursue whichever career they wish to in the Irish health service. I assure Deputy Murphy that I really want to keep them here. I very much welcome Mr. Paul Reid's comments on that today.

See this speech in context