Neasa Hourigan (Dublin Central, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Chairman. I wish the Minister and the Ministers of State, who are in the room with him, a good afternoon. I want to ask the Minister about the requirements HSE staff are being asked to meet to volunteer for the vaccination teams.

I have been contacted by an employee of Crumlin hospital who has responded to a call for people to join the vaccination team in Citywest, which is being run by the Dublin Midland Hospital Group. Like many of her colleagues, she feels she could spare some time for vaccination in addition to her existing work, which is incredible considering the pressure staff are under.

Despite being employed by the HSE, working on the front line and being registered with the appropriate medical body, she is being asked by the HSE to do the following: No. 1, supply proof of police clearance for any country resided in for more than a period of six months; No. 2, start a Garda vetting process; No. 3, provide name and contact details of three references; No. 4, provide a notarised copy of two forms of photographic proof of identification; No. 5, provide a notarised statutory declaration; No. 6, provide a verification of service by her current and previous employers; No. 7, fill out an employee set-up form, pension deduction form and section 51 form of the public services pension; No. 8, complete an occupational health assessment; No. 9, provide a copy of registration and qualifications; and No. 10, supply a work permit, if required.

I realise how important it is to get this right and ensure staff are appropriately qualified. This seems unnecessarily bureaucratic, however. Perhaps we are flush with qualified vaccination staff but my fear is that the vaccine roll-out may be slowed down by a lack of qualified staff. Does the Minister believe those requirements are onerous and may act as a barrier to the recruitment of volunteer vaccination staff? Does he feel that we can rationalise that process in any way?