Finally, will the Minister of State agree that this is exploiting nurses in hospitals? It is bad enough to exploit them but to take on 1,000 student nurses this year and not even have the benefit of the common applications policy of An Bord Altranais in operation for the recruitment of those nurses just adds insult to injury with the abolition of the CAP by the Minister so that the old nepotistic system can be continued.

I would not agree with the Deputy. The number of applicants this year is very high as usual and the young people are prepared——

Depending on whom you know.

That is not the way it operates.

The Minister of State knows perfectly well that is the way it operates. Talk to any matron.

Standards are laid down.

Let us deal with this in an orderly fashion.

Maybe that was the case in the Deputy's time but it is not so now.

We are recruiting 1,126 nurses. The Deputy should compliment the Minister and the Department on recruiting so many nurses in a difficult year.