Gerard Craughwell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I accept what the Minister says and I understand his own concerns in this area. However, as Minister for Health, he has responsibility for the HSE. The establishment of a working group to report on this matter now is a bit late in the day.

There are vacant posts in the system and there are people available now to fill those posts. I cannot for the life of me understand why we cannot go ahead and fill them. There are people on the panel and there is absolutely no reason this cannot be done, other than a blockage, for some reason or other, in the system. The Minister could, I am sure, do a little bit more in this regard. Perhaps he would not mind doing so.