Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Actually, over the past two years we have had record numbers of recruitment into our health service. We have invested very significantly in nurse education in this country and transformed it over the past 20 years. I was involved in it myself at the time, in the degree programme, the advanced nursing programmes and the postgraduate programmes. We need to continue to invest in nurse education and in all aspects of professional education within our health services. We are increasing annually the number of people working in our health service. That said, we are always seeking to improve human resource management within the Health Service Executive and within our health service more generally so that we create an atmosphere and environment that makes it more conducive to retaining staff and to keeping people in our health service. There is still work to be done on that front.

See this speech in context