Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

In regard to the recruitment restrictions in the HSE, the HSE still has the authority to hire additional home helps, up to a certain level, and the restrictions do not apply to the private providers which provide most of the home help. To be very clear on doctors, despite the talk and the description that we often hear of a recruitment and retention crisis in the health service, we have seen a surge in recruitment in the past three years. There are more than 20,000 more people working in the health service than there were three years ago, including 2,000 more doctors.

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