Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

That is the script the Minister brought to the Chamber approximately three months ago. No new information has been given today. That, in itself, is disappointing because the purpose of this last oral question session with the Minister before 29 February is to elicit information on what will happen when we know thousands will leave front-line services. The Minister has given no indications and has read out the list of statutory posts and the various obligations required to be met. He read it out ad nauseam during the course of last year. It would have been helpful if he had provided information relevant to what would happen in January and February. We are in a new year and expect new information.

I want to ask the Minister about front-line services. Essentially, I will concentrate on the nursing grade which was not referred to in the document. The Minister referred to grades in the health and education sectors but not nurses. I listened on the car radio today to a consultant from the Mid-Western Regional Hospital in Limerick who said that if nurses were not replaced, it might lead to fatalities in the maternity ward in the hospital. What further notice does the Minister require than a consultant saying this about a hospital?

The Minister referred to safety issues. What does he consider to be a safety issue? If HIQA was indicate to the HSE that it must have so many nursing staff in a particular ward, would that be considered to be a safety issue and thus allow one to breach the embargo forthwith?

The Minister set up the strategic workforce planning group and there is a planning forum under his Department, but he has not given any outcomes of what is happening in regard to these bodies. He has indicated today and previously that people were asked to give three months notice. He, everyone in the public service and I know that the majority are not required to give three months notice. All a public servant is required to do is to give one month's notice. People will give notice up to next week.

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