It has been reported today that 300 extra training places for doctors that were funded and put in place in the earlier part of the pandemic look set now to be cancelled. Those places were launched by the Tánaiste, when he was Taoiseach, in April last year. Having 300 fewer doctors working in the Irish healthcare system at a time when we have a huge crisis is not what should be happening. The Irish Medical Organisation has written to the HSE asking for the funding to be restored and for those places to go ahead. Will the Tánaiste back that call and make sure it happens?

I thank the Deputy. I am going to check this out. I only read about this yesterday. What I launched this time last year was a one-off announcement that we provide an extra 200 or 300 internships, particularly for medical students from overseas who train in Ireland and often struggle to get an internship. I had hoped that would continue. It seems it is not and I do not know why. I do think we treat overseas doctors and foreign medical students unfairly in Ireland, and that is not right. I will check it out over the next couple of days and see what I can do.