Colm Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am slowly recovering from those four days of hearings. I thank the HSE for furnishing replies to the questions that I tabled.

I wish to return to the junior doctor issue. My question No. 9 referred to the agency costs for 2012 and the first five months of 2013. My calculations indicate, including the first five months of 2013, that we will pay well in excess of what we paid last year in agency costs for junior doctors.

I have received details on the number of unfilled vacancies from the HSE. One of the things that was not included in the response was the number of positions filled using agency contracts for the next six months but a number of hospitals were listed. I know of a number of hospitals where the positions are filled using agency contracts as opposed to a direct contract between a junior doctor and the HSE. I also noted that the supplied response contained, or information published on vacancies not filled, that Limerick was not mentioned. However, Limerick Hospital advertised over 20 positions in all of the medical newspapers. Have the positions been filled by agency doctors? The number of junior doctor positions filled using agency contracts is well in excess of 150 but I am open to correction. That fact was not included in the details supplied on vacancies not filled. There seems to be misinformation. The HSE outlined that 31 positions were not filled but the figure did not include the number of positions filled using agency contracts as opposed to contracts between the HSE and the junior doctor. The matter must be clarified.

I wish to raise a related issue, the reform of junior doctor recruitment. Over the past two years I have had a big issue with the way junior doctors are employed. I accept the report that stated that 80% of junior doctors are employed under a training programme but that does not clarify the type of contract used. Over 2,000 junior doctors are on a six-month only contract. We need to move away from that system of employment. There is no reason for not giving a two year contract to junior doctors who wish to work in an accident and emergency department. A clause could be included which stipulates that they must work between two or three hospitals. I ask for a commitment to be given to reform the contract system over the next six months. If contracts are extended then we will resolve the problem of junior doctors quickly passing through the system and leaving Ireland far earlier than was the case five years ago.

I thank the HSE for its comprehensive response to my question on the fair deal scheme and for the statistic that over 34,000 has benefited from the scheme since its inception in 2009. How are moneys recovered under the scheme? I posed the question because a number of people have contacted me recently about the scheme. Their parents who owned their house will have signed up to the scheme that has a 5% recovery sum for a maximum of three years and they now reside in a nursing home. What happens if the house is the only place of residence for the current inhabitant but he or she is now unemployed and his or her parent or parents reside in a nursing home? The chance of recovering the money will be more difficult in such circumstances. Should the amount to be recovered under the scheme be revised downwards?