David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I will give two real-life examples of people waiting for treatment. When we talk about waiting times, it is hundreds of thousands of people. These are real people with real lived experiences. One is Elin who has Down's syndrome and suffers from arthritis. She is non-verbal and her parents have told me she is in constant pain. She has been waiting for two years for an MRI scan. She had an appointment in November; it was cancelled. She was told that the next appointment date is July 2024. I cannot figure that out. She is on drugs to dull her pain. Her GP has advised that has severe consequences for her immune system.

A second example is Sophie Redmond who was outside Leinster House this week. She is an 11-year old child who was diagnosed with scoliosis in 2017. Her spine is twisting into her lungs. She has been waiting nine months for surgery. The waiting times and the number of children who have been waiting more than 12 months for scoliosis are truly shocking, despite a commitment by the previous Minister for Health.

If we do not hire the specialists, consultants and all the support staff, we will not reduce those waiting times. Earlier this year, the Minister and I attended the conference of the Irish Hospital Consultants Association. I imagine he also engages with the IMO. They have told me that unless he deals with the two-tier pay issue, we will be unable to hire the consultants we need. Elin, Sophie and all the other children and adults who are waiting for treatment will need to continue to wait for treatment. I ask the Minister to speak to the long waiting times. How can we reduce those waiting times if the HSE cannot recruit the staff that are needed? If the staff needed are not recruited, we will not get there.

I have raised Be on Call for Ireland with the Minister several times. I got the most recent figures from the HSE today. A total of 1,470 people who came home or who applied through Be on Call for Ireland are still job ready. Half of them are in a pool and still need to go through the final interview process. The other half have completed all of that and are ready to be hired and have not been hired. Why is that the case? I cannot explain how 1,470 people who want to work in our health service despite all the promises and commitments the Minister has made. In the budget the Government promised to hire 15,000 or 16,000 additional staff and yet these people are ready to be hired. What is the problem? I ask the Minister to explain that. I ask him to deal with the issue of the consultant contracts.