Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this. She said this was her seventh time bringing it up. I did not quite get to seven. I think I hit five times raising the issue of public health nurses in south Dublin. This is an issue that regularly crosses our desks. Both the Deputy and I represent suburban Dublin constituencies. She certainly does not need to convince me of the importance of public health nurses or the vital role they play. I fully agree with it. However, I am taking this matter on behalf of the Minister for Health, Deputy Donnelly. While I have a detailed response here that focuses on the importance of the public health nurse, I know the Deputy will have received most of this already. I want to talk about the fact that there are clear staff shortages.

Unfortunately, at present the public health nursing section in Dublin west, which covers Lucan and Rathcoole, is one such area impacted by significant staff shortages. This represents a significant challenge for the service. In response to these staff shortages, the public health nursing service in Dublin west is prioritising services, including child development checks, to ensure the delivery of a safe service to the most in-need cases in the community. The Department of Health fully acknowledges the frustration of parents, families and the wider community in Dublin west and mid-west where these staff shortages and delays in accessing routine services are no doubt causing anxiety and stress. The Department and the HSE encourage parents who have a concern or query regarding a child's development to contact the public health nursing service directly to discuss their concerns.

The HSE has assured the Department that efforts are ongoing to recruit nursing staff. However, recruitment to vacant nursing posts continues to challenge the nursing services, despite ongoing recruitment campaigns and attendance of recruitment fairs both nationally and internationally. At present a rolling campaign is under way to fill vacant positions in Dublin. Frustratingly, to date, none of the vacancies have been filled in the Dublin west region. The Department fully acknowledges that much more needs to be done to ensure the vital services public health nurses provide are available in all parts of the country. Last year, in response to these recruitment challenges, the HSE established a community nursing oversight group tasked with the development of proposals and recommendations to address the challenges of recruitment and retention in community nursing. The Department will continue to work with and support the HSE to ensure these issues are addressed. The HSE has assured the Department that it will continue to run recruitment campaigns in Dublin west and the public health nursing service will continue to strive to provide the required nursing services to the population.

The Deputy made an interesting and valid point about potential incentivisation for those who will stay in Dublin. The matter is perhaps not only for the Department of Health but for the Department in tandem with the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform. I undertake to bring it back to the relevant Ministers. The other area is international recruitment, which specifically falls under my brief in the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment with regard to the provision of work permits. We have a generous work permit system for critical skills, which include nursing. We are keen to ensure it is expanded and that we facilitate the continued recruitment of nurses from outside the European Union and European Economic Area to fulfil the clear need of our entire health system, and in particular the public health nursing system. I will take a moment to underline from a personal point of view the importance of getting the numbers across Dublin, especially in the Deputy's constituency of Dublin Mid-West and mine. I am dealing with many people whose cases I know are also crossing the Deputy's desk who are entering her clinic and ringing her telephone on a daily basis about this matter. They are doing the same to me and I fully empathise with her position. I undertake to do everything I can in government to push on this agenda and get those positions filled.

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