Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

There are two things. The Deputy's numbers may be correct. The information I received from the Department is that about 20 graduate per year.

One thing that will help is that it is proposed that the standard eye exam fee will increase for medical card holders. That will mean more money will come into the practices and they may be able to offer more attractive salaries. The issue is structural; it is not a short-term issue.

I want to see a doubling of college places for healthcare professionals. We are approaching it strategically and have been doing a lot of work in the background to figure out how many extra nurses, midwives and health and social care professionals we need across the board. I have engaged directly with some universities to gauge their appetite for a big expansion of health places. They have been very open to it. I met the excellent team in University College Cork, UCC, and it was a very positive meeting. Ultimately, we will solve these issues in the long term by providing about twice the number of healthcare graduates we currently do.

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