Robert Watt says claims of staff shortage in health sector are 'nonsense'

Warnings that the health service is suffering a severe staff shortage are “nonsense”, while medics threatening to emigrate only “want to spend time abroad” for their own reasons, a senior government official says.

The Department of Public Expenditure and Reform secretary general Robert Watt issued the controversial denial of repeated medical union warnings over shortages in the system after facing questions from politicians yesterday.

Speaking at the latest meeting of the Dáil’s cross-party Public Accounts Committee, he insisted “I don’t think there is a problem with recruitment” in the health service and denied long-term concerns over staff numbers.