3446. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health further to parliamentary Question No. 761 of 7 July 2026, the reason the number of internationally recruited nursing and midwifery staff appointed through HSE frameworks fell from 1,886 in 2023 to 994 in 2024 and to 371 in 2025, as disclosed; whether this reduction reflects a deliberate policy decision to reduce reliance on international recruitment or a decline in the available international supply; the assessment her Department has made of the impact of this reduction on nursing and midwifery staffing levels; and the measures in place to ensure domestic supply is expanding at a rate sufficient to replace it. [56368/26]

As this is a recruitment matter, we have asked the HSE to respond directly to the Deputy.