Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)

I join the Taoiseach and Deputy Kenny in wishing Dr. Jim McDaid well in his retirement.

On yesterday's statement by the Minister for Health and Children in which she announced a voluntary redundancy scheme in the Health Service Executive, from that announcement, it would appear that it is intended to have a scheme for about 4,000 HSE staff. This voluntary redundancy scheme has been a while in coming. As far back as November 2004, the then chairman of the interim HSE, Mr. Kevin Kelly, told us that there was too much bureaucracy in the system. On 17 October 2007, the Minister herself told the Dáil that there was scope for a voluntary redundancy programme and that she intended to discuss it with the new health forum. In his statement on 8 July 2008, the Minister for Finance told us that his Department and the Department of Health and Children were drawing up proposals for a targeted scheme to reduce surplus staff in the HSE. On 27 September 2008, the then chief executive of the HSE told us that 1,000 backroom jobs would go over the following 12 months. In his budget speech on 14 October 2008, the Minister, Deputy Brian Lenihan, said that discussions were under way on the development of a redundancy scheme for the HSE. On 25 November 2008, the Minister for Health and Children said she hoped the redundancies would commence in 2009.

Having spent three to four years discussing this matter, the Minister announced the scheme yesterday and has given the staff two weeks to reply. The date set for the receipt of applications is 19 November. The date by which the redundancies are to take effect is 30 December. Given that the scheme took three to four years to emerge from the Government, does the Taoiseach think it is realistic to get 4,000 redundancies on a voluntary basis in the HSE, with applications in by 19 November and all done and dusted by 30 December?

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