David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I commend Teachta O'Reilly on tabling this motion, which deals with the retention and recruitment of nurses specifically but it could apply to many healthcare professionals working in our acute health services. The Minister of State knows that, along with the housing crisis, the issue of the retention and recruitment of nurses has been with us for a very long time. When the Minister of State and his colleagues in the Independent Alliance sat in opposition, they raised these as issues concern. Like the housing crisis, this has not happened by accident. It happened by design because successive Governments led by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael prioritised private medicine over public health services, did not prioritise our public service and allowed a situation to arise whereby far too many of our nurses are not staying in the country because of the pressures in our public health service. Nurses are not getting the due recognition and pay they deserve. To add insult to injury, a previous Government decided to create a two-tier pay structure, which has still not been resolved, whereby many new entrants to the system are not on the same pay scales as their colleagues.

I remarked to Deputy Ó Caoláin earlier that anyone born in Ireland since the foundation of the State has lived under Governments led by either Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael. That is the reality. As long as we have Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael-led governments, we are not going to have a resolution of these issues. While Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael are in government and are being propped up by people such as the Minister of State, we can use Private Members' motions as a mechanism to apply pressure and to ensure we get resolution on these issues. My party has put forward practical, realistic, deliverable solutions that will ensure that we can retain and recruit as many nurses as possible.

This issue has an impact on services. In Dungarvan Community Hospital, beds were closed last year because of a lack of nurses. Along with other Members of the Oireachtas, I am trying to get additional cardiology services in Waterford, but we are told that the hospital cannot recruit the staff. This problem applies across the board; it is not just a nursing issue. The Government needs to get its act together, do something about this issue, and stop prioritising private medicine over and above our public health services.

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