John Gilroy (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister to the Chamber to deal with this comprehensive and decent motion, which highlights an issue of extreme importance. I suppose the construction of the motion means we cannot support it in its current form. Surely there is no intention to ask the Minister to get involved in the recruitment of clinicians at any level. If we go down that route, we will open very dangerous territory. For that reason alone, the motion as it stands must fail. I suggest the idea that we should pay certain clinicians more or less than their colleagues is also something we would not like to explore. I think everyone understands that the recruitment of clinicians depends on many variables other than pay alone. Perhaps other problems in the career pathway are preventing the recruitment of clinicians. I do not know whether that is the case. Senator Power put a decent question to the Minister when she asked how it can be said that we will provide this service in September, given that we have failed to recruit these clinicians to date.