Ruairi Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

We have all been shocked by underfunding in the health service. We went straight from the budget into what seemed like a near disaster. We have all been very worried about the moratorium on recruitment because we are constantly talking about the number of positions left unfilled. The Government promised many more beds - 1,500 or so - but none were allocated in the budget.

We are worried about hospital waiting lists. We are also worried about the nurses we train and who work in the medical sphere. Everyone, including speech and language and occupational therapists, have to live in the real world and the problem is they are dealing with the cost-of-living and accommodation crises. Some of those who work directly for the HSE in hospitals are dealing with a crisis therein. We know the issues that pertain in respect of working conditions. If we are now saying there is insufficient money to deliver an existing level of service, I dread to think what will happen with the gaps we are not filling and which we have not dealt with to this point. That is something that needs to be dealt with as soon as possible.

As has been said by others, we are all very glad that, by the skin of our teeth, the strike that was threatened for Tuesday by section 39 and section 56 workers has not happened and we have seen some sort of resolution. There are outstanding issues regarding disparity of pay. We all found it very strange that something has to go to absolute calamity and disaster before it is resolved. I do not think that makes sense to everybody. We all know the vital work the Irish Wheelchair Association and others do and I am very glad the constituents who have contacted me and others were not put out. We welcome that the strike was averted, but we need to look at how we resolve issues. We should not need the plates to fall on the floor before we lift them and keep them spinning. I do not think that is good enough in any way, shape or form.

I refer to what Deputy Paul Donnelly said. I also met the Stuttering Awareness Mental Wellbeing Ireland organisation. This is an issue that crisscrosses into the remit of the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, but it is the same scenario whether we are talking about autism or disability services, CDNTs or primary care. We all know what should happen. We all talk about early intervention and multiagency approaches. I do not always see a lot of that. I accept that even if we set out today to do absolutely everything perfectly in regard to making sure we have enough occupational and speech and language therapists and psychologists, they are not necessarily in place. Workforce planning needs to happen. Beyond that, we need to ensure we get the best bang for buck. We are very good in this State at carrying out pilot schemes and we hear about the school inclusion model. A lot of people understand that we take the services to where the need is and the children are. That is absolutely necessary.

I would like to think there would be engagement with those organisations, and through the HSE and others, which represent occupational and speech and language therapists regarding what we can do until we can fill the spaces that need to be filled.

That is also using technology and whatever else can be done to facilitate and make this a much better process. We often talk about these types of solutions but they do not happen.

I brought up the issue of Dealgan House with the Minister for State, Deputy Naughton. It has been almost three years since the Minister met the families. I acknowledge there is an inquiry in relation to Covid but I still maintain they need to be provided with the mechanism the Minister had promised previously.

Finally, I want to bring up an issue from a constituent about Louth County Hospital. A large number of teenagers who are waiting for braces and other urgent treatments are categorised as 5A priority, which is the highest. Some in category 4 are getting the benefit of treatment in the Beacon Hospital, which is being paid for by the HSE. Why is this the case when the waiting time for 5As, who are clinically more urgent, we are being told is too long? This needs to be looked at and dealt with. It is quite strange that those who seem to be in a worse category are not being dealt with. I welcome the fact that we are dealing with the category 4s. This is not the first time I have brought up the wider issue of dental care for those with medical cards.

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