Colm Burke (Fine Gael)
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I wish to follow up on the question posed by Deputy Ó Caoláin but I will not go into too much detail. In the context of report on the West-North West Hospitals Group and the breaches that occurred, were full fees paid to the company in respect of the work carried out?

Question No. 22 in my name relates to the filling of posts in the HSE without their being advertised internally or externally. The answer appears to indicate that of the order of 1,000 posts at administration level were filled on a temporary basis initially and then the people who took them up were eventually made permanent. Am I correct in my interpretation in this regard? The reply to my question refers to 943 employees from grade IV to grade VII who were initially employed on a temporary basis and were eventually made permanent. A further 141 staff were also made permanent at higher grades. In addition, some 42 staff are on temporary contracts at present. Will our guests clarify for the committee that 1,000 of the 14,000 posts within the HSE were filled without being advertised and in the absence of any of those who currently hold them being interviewed?

In the context of the current overrun on the HSE's budget, I note that for the first four months of the year the amount in respect of hospital groups was €80.4 million. What proportion of this amount relates to the payment of agency staff? This ties in with an issue which has been a hobbyhorse of mine for the past three years, namely, the way we treat junior hospital doctors. Three years ago I flagged up the fact that we were going to experience problems and this has proven to be the case. I accept that three reports have been compiled by the MacCraith group in respect of this matter. Unfortunately, I was obliged go outside the Department of Health in order to obtain a copy of one of those reports yesterday. I am absolutely astonished that a report which was compiled in respect of this issue was not circulated to members of the Joint Committee on Health and Children. I am disappointed that the Department of Health is treating the committee as if it is not involved in the process, particularly in view of the fact that I have continually raised this issue during the past three years.

I tabled a question in respect of the total number of non-Irish graduates working as doctors in the hospital system here and I did not really receive a clear answer in respect of it. We have invested over €200 million to upgrade medical education here in order that we might produce more people with medical qualifications. The Fottrell report was produced in 2006 but we have done nothing to try to retain Irish graduates in our hospital system. In the context of the targets we are going to set with regard to ensuring that the review recommended in the MacCraith reports will be implemented, when will proper training contracts be put in place and when will proper career paths be planned out for those who want to remain in the Irish hospital system? I have been raising this matter for three years and very little progress has been made in respect of it. As a result, we are now paying for agency staff.