Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Mr. Gloster said earlier that he did not want to look at every job in the context of the recruitment freeze. I want to look at one area. I am glad Senator Conway raised the issue of the recruitment freeze. There is almost a narrative that the HSE was recruiting staff willy-nilly. When public representatives ask questions about key personnel who are missing, we are told it is the result of the recruitment freeze. I will give the example of audiology services in my locality. The waiting list for audiology services for children has doubled and is now at approximately 5,800. That is over two years. The challenge is that there is a shortage of audiologists in the area. That is just one example. That is brought to the attention of the Minister and his attention is also drawn to the recruitment of other people and the importance of administrative staff. Consultants and junior doctors who came before the committee told us they do not have the teams around them. Administration staff are part of the team and if we do not have them, consultants and junior doctors cannot do their jobs.

This willy-nilly thing needs to be responded to. Is that the way it operates? Did the HSE recruit anyone who was available?