Martin Conway (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank our guests. The discussion has shone a light on an appalling issue. I propose that we hold another public meeting on this issue and invite in representatives of the HSA, the HSE and An Garda Síochána. I have no doubt the HSA will say this is a resources issue and that is probably correct, but it is given a budget and it is supposed to prioritise where that budget is most badly needed. I would be fairly confident that on building sites and farms, there is not the same level of assault and workplace incidents as that which occurs in our healthcare system. The HSA needs to explain, therefore, how it is apportioning its budget and how it is that it has not yet established a health unit within the authority to deal with this issue.

We also need to hear from An Garda Síochána as to why the level of prosecutions for attacks on healthcare workers is so low. I am sure that too is not reflected in other elements of society or other workplaces. I am concerned that we are talking about single figures, if even that, for the number of prosecutions. There were 4,500 reports in 2021, with almost 500 investigated, and I am sure the real figures are higher than that. Given that there were no prosecutions, at least that we know of, I think the Garda needs to explain its processes for dealing with this. An attack on a person, whether in the workplace or not, is a criminal matter, outside of the issue of workplace safety and the responsibilities employers have towards their staff. It is a criminal issue and work needs to be done in that regard.

Of the figures we have, are there regional breakdowns? I come from the mid-west. University Hospital Limerick is the most overcrowded hospital in the country, so logic would suggest there would be more assaults, attacks and incidents in that hospital than in any other. Perhaps our guests have some statistics on that or they may have been included in the paperwork they gave us. What are the views of the unions on the idea of there being a Garda presence in emergency departments, especially those where attacks are prevalent? Should a Garda presence, or perhaps a health unit within An Garda Síochána, be considered given the serious level of assaults and attacks, at among the highest per head of population in Europe?