James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to raise the worrying issue of the shortage of psychiatrists in our health system. The PSPC found there were problems, in particular, with recruitment in psychiatry, where there were 458 established posts but only 364 of them had been filled, which is approximately 79%.

However, this level is based on established posts, not on the number that should be in place under A Vision for Change, and the actual number is probably much lower than that. In June 2018, 25 unqualified non-specialist doctors, who were not on the specialist register, were acting as psychiatric consultants, a practice that the President of the High Court, Mr. Justice Peter Kelly, described as "scandalous", and reported the matter to HIQA, the Attorney General and others. It did not receive the coverage it deserved at the time due to other serious health issues in the news. It is clear that there is a serious shortage of psychiatrists, however, when the College of Psychiatrists of Ireland sought to increase the number of trainee places by 10%. This was refused and an increase of only 5% was granted. The Government says that it cannot recruit psychiatrists but, at the same time, will not train them in sufficient numbers. What will the Minister do about this?

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