Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

In life, two of the most important things are health and housing, and both areas seem to be in perpetual crisis here. Indeed, most of the Government's actions actually seem to be making matters worse for people. A recruitment freeze in the health service at a time when the system is bursting at the seams is just simply incomprehensible. You would think that it would be a cost-saving exercise, but is it? Many within the HSE want to move away from using agency staff but this requirement ban is doing the exact opposite. That is not to mention the young people who are being treated as afterthought by the Government.

The Government's idea of workforce planning seems to be getting graduates on an aeroplane to Australia as quickly as possible. I will tell the Minister the story of one young woman who contacted me. She is a speech and language therapist who was recently offered her dream job in a rehab hospital. Due to the demand she started the job in a temporary capacity, through an agency, while waiting for the contract. As this can take months in the HSE, she relocated to do so and then the job offer was withdrawn. As she had started through the agency before the freeze, she was allowed to continue to work, albeit with no job security. The HSE is now paying 30% more for her through the agency than if it had been able to honour the contract. As she said to me, nobody wins in this situation.

There are recent healthcare graduates who are wondering if this country does not actually want them. I was contacted by one woman about podiatry graduates in Galway, who were holding out for HSE jobs. They had done their interviews and were told that offers would become available because we are crying out for podiatrists in our more rural areas. They are now in limbo, scrambling to find private clinic jobs. As that woman said to me, the freeze will cause the brain drain of healthcare students. Ní dhéanann sé ciall ar bith nach bhfuil muid in ann daoine a earcú sa chóras leighis anseo, daoine óga atá cáilithe i réimse leathan ábhar agus atá ag iarraidh obair anseo in Éirinn, i nGaillimh agus i gceantair iargúlta ar fud na tíre ach nach bhfuil in ann mar gheall ar an mbac ar fhostú anseo, bac a chuir an tAire isteach. Caithfimid fís a bheith againn don tír seo agus breathnú ar an todhchaí, todhchaí na ndaoine óga sin atá díreach críochnaithe lena gcuid staidéar agus atá ag iarraidh fanacht agus a bheith lonnaithe anseo. Teastaíonn fostaíocht dóibh siúd.

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