Vol. 406 No. 3
251 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for Health if he will make a statement on the fact that there are only six women surgeons in the country and that only about 13 per cent of the country's consultants are women; and if he will give assurances that he will do everything possible to allow women, who find it extremely difficult to get consultant posts because of combining long training schedules with motherhood, every facility to be appointed to consultant posts.
I am aware that there are six women surgeons in permanent posts in this country at present — three ophthalmologists and three general surgeons.
My Department are currently considering ways and means of making higher specialist training more accessible and more attractive to Irish nationals. One of the major issues involved is the need to make provision for facilitating the increasing numbers of women coming into higher specialist training. Options such as training on a part-time basis, job-sharing and increasing the length of rotations, all deserve serious consideration by the relevant higher training bodies and I propose to advise them accordingly.
