Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I understand the Health Service Executive was due to deliver a report to Government last night setting out is proposals for achieving the required saving of more than €660 million next year. I also understand that the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and the Department of the Taoiseach will be involved in assessing those proposals. The plan comes in the wake of a recent report by the OECD, entitled Health at a Glance 2013: OECD Indicators, which notes that Ireland has a low ratio of doctors to population and one of the lowest levels of gynaecologists and obstetricians per 100,000 women in the OECD area.

Ireland has a legacy of under-staffing in maternity care, with a 2008 study of staffing levels in the greater Dublin area identifying a shortfall of 221 midwives, 20 neonatal nurses and 35 theatre staff.

Hence, there was a shortage of maternity staff, even during the good economic times, but the situation has significantly worsened since the beginning of the economic crisis. Dr. Peter Boylan, clinical director of the National Maternity Hospital, has stated that Ireland is approximately 30% short of internationally recommended maternity staff levels.

Following numerous inquiries into the tragic death of Savita Halappanavar last year, including a HIQA report which noted the three vacancies at University Hospital, Galway that remained unfilled owing to the moratorium on hiring staff, it is obvious that funding cuts and recruitment embargoes in the name of austerity are having detrimental effects on people's lives. Other reports, including the report into the death of Tania McCabe, already highlighted issues in maternity staffing levels as far back as 2007. However, despite inquiries, reports and recommendations, nothing has been done. Instead, the Government's policies seem to be making the situation worse.

I note the Minister for Health has said that it is not about overall numbers but the type of staff in place. I remind the Minister that if a football team has nine players and has to deal with what comes its way, there is no point in saying they can deal as well as otherwise without the required number or if they are short. The Minister also made the point that patient safety is the responsibility of the chief executive of any hospital or hospital group. Let us suppose I put it to a restaurant manager that we are going to save some money and I am going to take away a chef and a commis chef, but I want the manager to ensure that none of the customers is waiting on their food and that they all go away happy. In fairness to the manager, it would be difficult for him to deliver if he does not have the resources to do so. It is well to say that the responsibility is with the manager to make it happen but if we cut resources and tell the manager that he can make this happen with less, then it must be challenging for that manager. Given the HIQA report in October, will the Minister of State outline whether the Department will increase the numbers of staff and consultants in maternity hospitals? Is that part of the Government's plan?

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