John Connolly (Galway West, Fianna Fail)

Aontaím le mo chomhghleacaí. Cuirim fáilte roimh an gealltanas go bhfuil an tAire Stáit chun casadh leis na hoifigigh áitiúla ansin. Tá sé geallta aige go bhfuil sé ag iarraidh an fhadhb a réiteach chomh luath agus is féidir chun na leapacha sin a oscailt. Is dócha go bhfuil ábhar níos leithne anseo. There is a wider issue certainly. One of the things I noted is that in 2024, of the 17,168 critical skills employment permits given out in the country, more than 5,000 of them were for nursing staff. We have to examine something here. We have to examine whether we are training a sufficient number of nurses in our third level sector. Are we giving them the conditions and the work settings that make it possible for them to pursue their careers at home? Anecdotally we might hear that many of our nursing graduates go abroad because conditions are better. We need to examine this carefully, particularly if we have situations where in our own communities, in facilities that are State run and State led, we cannot have the complete suite of beds open. There is a bigger issue here but I thank the Minister of State and I welcome the fact he will meet local officials. I hope that we can see resolution of the issue soon.

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