Barry Andrews (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

I am happy to have the opportunity to address the issue of the appointment of a dentist to the Loughrea and Portumna area of County Galway, as raised by Deputy Burke. The Health Service Executive has the responsibility to manage and deliver, or arrange to be delivered on its behalf, health and personal social services. This includes the delivery of dental and oral health services.

The vacancy in question has arisen from the retirement of a dental surgeon based in Loughrea. This has led to a gap in the dental screening service provided to schools in this and other areas. At the moment, a principal dental surgeon and another dentist are attending to priority groups in the Loughrea area and dental teams in surrounding clinics are accommodating emergencies from this area.

In order to implement savings measures on public service numbers, the Government introduced a moratorium on recruitment, promotion, or payment of an allowance for the performance of duties at a higher grade with effect from 27 March 2009 to the end of 2010. A HSE circular has issued which gives effect to the Government decision in the public health services and other specific aspects of the employment control framework for the health services. The Government decision has been modulated to ensure that key services are maintained so far as possible in the health services, particularly in respect of children at risk, older people and persons with a disability.

The employment control framework specifically exempts staff in the following front line grades in the health sector from the moratorium — medical consultants, speech and language therapists, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, clinical psychologists, behaviour therapists, counsellors, social workers, and emergency medical technicians. The framework actually allows for a growth in the number of those posts within the overall approved employment ceiling — 111,800 whole time equivalents — for the health sector. The framework also includes provision for the creation of 225 new development posts this year for cancer, mental health and disability services. In addition, special provisions apply to certain specialist grades under the national cancer control programme. The focus on these key grades is in line with existing Government policy on the prioritisation of certain development areas, for which significant funding has already been provided. The overall result will be to assist in the reorientation of health employment to services delivered in primary and community care.

The Department of Health and Children has not received an application from the HSE for a derogation from the moratorium to fill the general dental surgeon post in Loughrea.

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