asked the Minister for Health if he will comment on the present unequal distribution of medical manpower throughout the country; and if he intends to take steps to rectify the situation.

The numbers of doctors in the various career grades in the health boards would appear to indicate that there are disparities in the distribtuion of medical manpower throughout the country. However, when the percentage of the population in each health board area is compared with the percentage of the various posts of doctors in the health boards, the results show a fairly even distribution of doctors.

Data on the distribution of medical manpower must also take account of the location of medical schools which tend to have a higher number of doctors than other areas, user of acute hospitals facilities, concentration of high technology and higher specialist activities in the major teaching hospitals and in the major urban areas.