Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I appreciate the Minister of State's response and the efforts being made. In recent years, we had the appalling images of a very elderly lady being moved out of a hospital far away from home, a place with which she had become familiar and was comfortable, because of a shortage of beds. This is the type of thing we do not want to see repeated. I raised it here at the time. I have been in constant contact with the HSE locally regarding efforts to recruit staff. I seem to be getting the same answers over and over, namely that efforts are being made to recruit staff, that we cannot recruit staff and that, if we do recruit staff, it is only when others have retired. It is very frustrating for people. Given the growing population in the locality, it does not auger well. It points to an inevitable shortage of beds again in the future.

If the current efforts to get more beds and staff are not working, maybe we need to alter the approach. It is the same story over and over, and it is not working. Maybe we need to consider different recruitment ideas because the current approach is just not working.

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