Louise O'Reilly

Yeah, well, you see, this is a kind of a bit of a manufacturer, I think, in some respects in relation to the rotunda, which is fine.

But there are consultants working in hospitals the length and breadth of the state and that does need to be looked at.

So if you want to see...

sort of where the Fine Gael minister is coming from and where her government priorities lie, you only have to look at the plans for the new children's hospital and there is a very private wing essentially being built, paid for by the taxpayer, but it is a private wing within the hospital.

There's no

There was no ideological conversion, I don't think, on the part of the minister.

But I think Paul makes a very interesting point there in relation to the actual number of hours that are worked.

We need more consultants.

There's nothing more certain than that.

We absolutely do.

But we also need to look at the model of care that is delivered.

And before I was elected, I represented nurses.

They are...

the best value for money that you're going to get in the health service, you know, investing in advanced nurse practitioners, in clinical nurse managers, ensuring that nurses are upscaled and also able to deliver and drive the level of care.

Like we've always had a sort of a consultant led model of care, but actually

As you see with the Domino midwife programme is a really good example of that.

Women will often opt for midwife led care rather than consultant led care.

But what they want at the end of the day and what anyone wants at the end of the day, they want continuity.

They want to know that they're getting the best and the highest standard of care.

Okay, so is she right or wrong to take this row with the redundant, to push this?