Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I want to make a final point particularly in relation to Senator Ruane's questions. It really comes down to staffing in the HSE in terms of the waiting lists. It is something we discuss at the Joint Committee on Disability Matters too. We had a joint sitting of these two committees and it is important at the end of the discussion to have a sense of the crux of the problem. Where has it come from? What are the solutions? A big problem has been the failure to progress disability services. It has had incredibly bad press, obviously and understandably. As a result people feel less inclined to go and work in the service. What Ms O'Donovan highlighted about section 39 workers is absolutely crucial. That is something that could have been addressed by the Government at the last budget. There are solutions here that we should focus on at the close. I want to make a quick point on that. This is an incredibly rewarding sector to work in and it is important that we put that message out from the committee as well. I worked in disability support services for many years and I have never enjoyed a job so much. It is much more enjoyable than this particular role.

There is a problem in Ireland at the moment, because of the failure of that particular service, and the changeover to it, people have been put off going into the service. I know from family members who use speech and language therapies that they feel there are better opportunities in the UK. They do not want to be in a service where they do not feel they can provide the service they were trained to give because the waiting lists are too long and they are trying to do things quicker. The solution is obviously to address things like section 39 workers if that is the crux of the problem. They are putting all of these resources into it. Deputy Sherlock highlighted how many millions were going into a recruitment company that was failing to recruit people. Perhaps we need to be looking at some sort of recruitment campaign to explain why the service has gone the way it has, but also to say that we need staff because the future is bright. The fact that focus is not there in the HSE is what makes it feel like there is no hope of progressing disability services, PDS, improving. Perhaps that is what we need to be calling for collectively, both on this committee and the Joint Committee for Disability Matters.