As we speak, nurses, midwives, health professionals and healthcare workers are protesting outside the HSE headquarters. They are also protesting in Cork. Many of them are balloting for industrial action. Last night in my area I organised a protest about the health service. It was packed to the rafters with healthcare workers from St. Michael's Hospital, Loughlinstown hospital and the local community. All were outraged by and extremely worried about the unsafe staffing levels across the health service and angered that the Government claimed it had lifted the recruitment embargo in the health service while actually imposing staff quotas, which are in effect an embargo, based on something called the pay and numbers strategy. The Government has suppressed thousands of posts in the health service, leading to a situation where patient safety is being compromised in our hospitals and across our health service. Is the Government going to scrap the pay and numbers strategy and get safe staffing levels back into our hospitals?

This Government has brought unprecedented investment our health system. There is over €25 billion for next year.

That is not the question.

As part of that we have increased the workforce the Deputy speaks about by almost 28,000 additional staff since 2020. We have increased our acute bed capacity as well with over 1,100 beds. The workforce plan for next year is for additional recruitment within the health system of 3,400 staff.

So pay and numbers does not exist.

Obviously, the HSE manages the priorities required from a recruitment perspective, but this Government has increased staffing by nearly 28,000 up to now and a further 3,000 staff next year.

The Government is deceiving the public. Pay and numbers is a Department of public expenditure policy.

Let the Minister answer.

That will make a difference and it is making a difference when it comes to the results in our acute hospital system.

Unsafe.