Colm Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for the reply. I note there is an acceptance that there is a need for additional training positions. It is a major problem within nursing homes. It is also a major problem within hospitals. Some Irish nurses contacted me recently who trained in the United Kingdom and who returned to Ireland. They applied in early December to register but ten weeks later they were still not registered with An Bord Altranais. That is an issue that needs to be resolved also. On the one hand we have the shortage and on the other hand we are not responding fast enough to that shortage. The Minister's reply is open and honest in terms of dealing with the issues but it is a problem that must be given priority to make sure we do not fall into a situation where beds in nursing homes cannot be filled because we do not have the nursing staff and, as a result, there is a backlog in our hospital system.