Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the nurses and members of the INMO and the PNA to the Gallery. It is great to see them and I thank them for taking the time to listen to the debate. Our nurses and midwives are the backbone of our public service the length and breadth of the country. Cavan General Hospital and the Monaghan minor injuries unit are exceptional when it comes to energy, passion and dedication and are exemplary examples of service provided to patients in the north east of the region. Cavan General Hospital's emergency department sees over 30,000 patients per annum and patient numbers keep growing. Our nurses are the life blood of our hospitals but there is a huge problem with recruitment and retention. This issue must be addressed. Before Christmas, the RCSI hospital group informed me that there were 42 vacancies across Cavan General Hospital and Monaghan minor injuries unit, the majority of which are in the nursing profession. I appreciate that efforts are under way locally to try to attract nurses but this all leads back to the bigger issue of pay and conditions for nurses, midwives and psychiatric nurses.

The Government needs to examine why we cannot attract nurses. I am confident that the answer it will receive will be very similar to the one I get from nurses in Cavan and Monaghan, namely, stress and pay. The terms and conditions being offered by the HSE are significantly less attractive than those that are available abroad. It is creating a real human resources problem within our hospitals. In Cavan General Hospital and Monaghan minor injuries unit, the workload that is expected of professionals is untenable. Figures released to me via a recent parliamentary question show that over 25,000 people attended the emergency department in Cavan General Hospital in the first nine months of 2018, which was an increase of 2.9% on the same period in 2017. We have a fabulous facility in Monaghan minor injuries unit that provides top-class service. The staff tell me they want to expand that service. Currently, it is run from Monday to Friday, nine to five. They want to provide a 24-hour service. They have the enthusiasm, commitment, passion and capacity to do it. The biggest problem for them and for the Minister will be recruitment. The facility complements what goes on in Cavan General Hospital. The Government must address recruitment. To do so, it must address terms and conditions. I earnestly ask the Minister to listen to the professionals who are here in the Gallery. They know what they are talking about.

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