Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Doctors from Cuba have been working in Portugal, Spain and Sweden, all within the EU, all recognised and all providing cover for the health services in those countries. What is so different about Ireland that this cannot happen? In County Fermanagh, in Enniskillen’s South West Acute Hospital, the health trust recently met with the Cuban embassy based in England and is now putting in place a procedure to look at how Cuban doctors can assist it in meeting the credentials it has in regard to providing cover there. It is doable. There seems to a complete reluctance in the Department going by the fact that it does not respond to correspondence and by not actually doing something to bridge the gap that we are talking about. There is going to be a long timeframe, as seen by the number of questions this morning about the lack of trained staff, the lack of doctors and the lack of availability. There is going to be gap between what the Minister is talking about, which I hope comes to pass, and improvement in the situation on the ground. This is an opportunity that could ease and alleviate that burden. The Department does not seem to be interested in taking it up.

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