Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

We will make a start and stop at 11 a.m.

Moving to correspondence, as previously agreed, items that were not flagged for discussion for this meeting will continue to be dealt with in accordance with the proposed actions that have been circulated, and decisions taken by the committee regarding correspondence are recorded in the minutes of the committee meetings and published on the committee's webpage.

The first category of correspondence under which members have flagged items for discussion is B - correspondence from Accounting Officers and-or Ministers and follow-up to committee meetings.

The first item of correspondence is No. 1364 B. It is from Mr. Robert Watt, Secretary General of the Department of Health, and is dated 15 July. It provides information requested by the committee arising from our meeting with the Department of Health on 26 May. Topics addressed include issues regarding CAMHS, that is, child and adolescent mental health services; a progress update on the recommendations in the value for money review on nursing home care costs; dental services; and expenditure to date on the national paediatric hospital, with just over €1 billion of the capital budget of €1.4 billion, which was approved by the Government and has now been drawn down. That game has changed in that there is now substantial public commitment to this. It has already been administered. It is proposed to note and publish this item of correspondence. Is that agreed? Agreed. Does any member wish to raise anything in relation to it? The only thing of note I have seen in it is the fact that the figure has now gone over €1 billion, so we are already into a situation where the cost exceeds what the original estimates referred to and we are still some way away from opening the doors of the hospital. There is nearly another three years, potentially, to go on that project.

I want to raise an issue with dental services. While there seems to be a budget, a shortfall in staffing for dental services is given. In the case of Cork's public dental health service - it refers here to children up to their 16th birthday - there are four vacancies, moving from a situation where there was none in December 2021. We know there is not a large number of staff in some of these services. In the case of Dún Laoghaire and Dublin south there is a gap of 8.7 whole-time equivalents, and in the case of Louth-Meath they are almost ten staff short there. It does not state how many staff they have, but I am just thinking there is substantial funding going into that, and positions are not being filled. I think it is something we need to raise with the HSE again when it is before us. What is happening here? Are they not able to recruit? If they are saying that in CHO 8, in Louth-Meath, they are short ten dentists, I would like to know how many are needed and how many they have. We have a figure here for what the gap is, but the gap is ten whole-time equivalents. That is really a serious issue.

In the midlands CHO, there is a gap of 2.3 FTEs, which is almost 2.5 FTEs. I wish to raise the fact that there are substantial gaps in areas represented.