Emer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I want to discuss the ongoing shortage of public health nurses in my area, particularly in the constituency of Dublin Mid-West. This shortage is having a huge impact on infant developmental checkups. To my count, this is the seventh time I have formally raised this issue, whether in the House or through parliamentary questions, since it was first brought to my attention last year. I have had two meetings with representatives of the HSE. I know the Minister of State will understand that I will continue to raise this issue until it is sorted. My constituents, especially those in Newcastle and Lucan, are getting extremely frustrated by this. That is understandable.

Since I first highlighted this issue, babies and toddlers have missed vital developmental checkups. Some have missed two, whether those are three month, nine to 11 month, 21 to 24 month, or 46 to 48 month checkups. I do not need to tell the Minister of State that developmental checkups are vital when it comes to picking up potential issues. Currently, babies in Lucan and Newcastle may be showing early signs of developmental delay or a health issue but it might be going unnoticed. That is a real fear for new parents in particular, who are navigating parenthood for the first time, and may not yet be as familiar with the signs to look out for.

We talk all of the time about early intervention, and how important it is to detect and treat issues as early as possible, yet the HSE is providing no intervention whatsoever for these infants and their parents in my area. It is not just about early detection of issues; it is also about giving parents, particularly mums, that peace of mind many really need in those early years. Even if there is nothing to worry about with their child's development, having someone to listen to their concerns who is trained to identify issues and reassure them that everything is okay is extremely important for parents. It is extremely important for their mental health. To know that they have these periodic checkups with their public health nurse as their baby grows and becomes a toddler is hugely reassuring. This reassurance has been taken away from parents in my constituency. That is simply not good enough. It needs to be resolved as soon as possible, especially considering that it is these parents' hard-earned taxes that are meant to provide this vital service.

I have had mothers come to me saying they are terrified to give birth without this service in place for their newborn babies, which is awful. I have been contacted by parents outraged that their new baby is not getting the same service that their older children got. That is just simply unfair. One mother told me:

We are first-time parents and we are really distressed at the thought that our baby will not receive the basic level of care that the HSE advises, just because we recently moved to Newcastle recently and there's no public health nurse situated here.

Yet, if that mother had not moved and lived somewhere else, her baby would be getting those checkups. It is like a postcode lottery. I met with HSE officials on Monday last and they were keen to stress that this is not an issue of investment. The money is there. The issue is the pipeline of nurses. I have been told again and again that as soon as student nurses come on stream, this matter will be resolved. However, time has moved on and they have not appeared in my area. That pipeline has not materialised. We all know that, once qualified, public health nurses are free to work in any area. That is understandable and right, but it means that Dublin is effectively training public health nurses to head back down the country. There has to be an incentive for them to choose to work in areas such as Lucan and Newcastle, where there is huge demand given the demographics. We have to get much-needed public health nurses into areas where there simply are none. I ask the Minister of State what the plan is to fix this.

See this speech in context