Dr Gabrielle Colleran

that that woman gets to make those choices.

And that's what we're speaking for.

Well, David, I guess I should say that the master for the Rotunda speaks for the Rotunda, so it isn't my place to speak to that.

I can speak to our approach in the IHCA, and that is that we really want to sit down with the Minister.

We have the same goals, which is an excellent service with timely access for all patients.

And I think we can all agree that the way this unfolded in the media was really damaging to patient confidence.

And I, as a mother of three, I'm really conscious of the pregnant women in Ireland who would have been listening to that debate unfold and not feeling that their voices...

were heard.

And so that was really the perspective I was hoping to bring to this and hoping that we can move in that collaborative direction.

We do have a lower number of obstetricians and gynaecologists than any comparable jurisdiction.

We're up to 71% of a differential when you compare with high quality services like England or Scotland or Australia or New Zealand.

So what we have to do is work together to get those posts in and the recruitment.

But it has to be also collaboratively with the midwives because that pathway is key

for so many patients.

So, you know, together we can do this.

It's all very doable, but the decisions are together as a collaboration.

So again, the ESRI has a really good data on this.

If you're looking for just obstetricians, like the figure is at least 100 by 2040, but

you know across the system we're looking at a 40 to 60 percent increase so that's not going to come in overnight and that's where you need the ESRI the National Doctors Training Programme all the colleges working together so that we are recruiting and we are training the trainees that we then have for the jobs you know.