Martin Browne (Tipperary, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

It is encouraging to see some movement on what appears to be the seemingly insurmountable problems inherent in our health system when it comes to the provision of doctors. This Bill seeks to remove the obstacles for people who hold a British medical degree from availing of medical intern posts here and to ensure a route to registration on the general division for international doctors. While it a positive avenue to go down, it does not take from the fact that Irish doctors are leaving this country at a rate of knots. This has become such a problem that our health system is increasingly difficult to access.

The rate at which doctors are leaving is summed up in figures that show 402 work visas were issued by Australia to Irish doctors in the first five months of 2022. Given that the figure was 272 three years ago, it is apparent that far from being addressed adequately, the Government is overseeing a rapidly worsening situation that is leaving communities and regions with a severe shortage of doctors. That is where the problem is being experienced and while the provisions of the Bill are welcome, they do not address the fundamental problem of our doctors are leaving. The Government, through various policy failures across the sectors, has created a situation that leaves talented graduates with little choice but to seek better conditions and opportunities abroad.

In my constituency of Tipperary, we have a minor injuries unit in Cashel where the availability of a doctor has been in the lap of the gods for much of this year. Earlier this year we had a situation where I would get word that the unit was to close temporarily. No information was given to local representatives and when I inquired about it, the issue stemmed from the inability to replace the doctor. Despite assurances the matter would be resolved and that Deputies would be regularly informed of any changes that might occur in the future, the unit’s hours of operation continued to be ad hoc and dependent on the availability of the replacement doctor. This kind of uncertainty is unacceptable, as is the lack of communication on the matter. However, it ultimately comes to down to the fact that under the Government and its predecessors, the health service is an unattractive prospect for the professionals we need, including doctors and nurses. Any measures that seek to boost the workforce are, therefore, welcome but the Government also needs to act to retain health professionals that have qualified here, and who would ideally stay here among family and friends, were they to be appreciated by the State and if the housing and services they needed were available and accessible.

A further example of where the Government needs to get its act together can be seen in what is not in this Bill. It does not provide for regulation of the home care sector. We have heard HIQA calling for regulation of home care services and that is something the unions and those working in the sector have called for as well. What about properly recognising the work home care workers do and the contribution they make to keeping people in their homes in their own communities?Surely if they were properly paid and given good conditions and pensions, which they are not currently, this would be seen as an attractive career and we could keep people out of hospital and long-term residential care. I appreciate getting the time to speak on this matter and hope the Government will take on board the points made by the Opposition.

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