Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Minister may be aware that two day care facilities in County Clare, namely, in Raheen and Kilrush, are to be closed from Monday for a period of two weeks and possibly more. This is creating significant stress among the population who use these facilities on a daily basis. They collectively cater for some 200 elderly individuals in the community on a weekly basis. I do not need to remind the Minister of the importance of day care centres, not just to the residents but also to the entire health system. They can act as an early warning device in recognising illness in residents, ensure any minor illness is picked up at an early stage to prevent from it developing and sometimes avert the necessity for long-stay care. The facilities in question do an immense amount of good work and are a great basis on which to provide an adequate health care system for the people in question..

It appears that the Government has not done enough in advance planning. We have been given excuses by the Department of Health, through the HSE at local level, that they do not have an adequate supply of nurses and that there is no supply of agency nurses. I have to believe this reflects negatively on the Department and the Minister for Health. It was the then Minister, Deputy James Reilly, who abolished the HSE and took full responsibility back within the control of the Minister for Health and the Department. Therefore, the blame lies at their door, not at that of the HSE or local management. We are led to believe this is not about financial resources but about the deployment of personnel. It is incumbent, therefore, on the Government to ensure there is enough advance planning. Everybody recognises that this is the holiday period and that people get sick. Therefore, there should be capacity to put in place a proper HR management system that will identify requirements and ensure staff will be available to meet the need.

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