Martin Browne (Tipperary, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I will make it clear that the family, including Stephen, Nicola and Donal, and I, want to praise the staff that are there. It is just that some of them are not trained to use particular equipment. This is not just being faced by Stephen and his family; there are similar situations throughout the country. There is no doubt that families such as this need the extra hours, but they need to be tailored to suit the patient and family. As I said, families such as Stephen's cannot plan anything ahead of time because if the staff are not there, Nicola and Donal have to be there in the morning and evening. They cannot plan a weekend away or anything like that. It is all about tailoring the services around the actual needs of the patient.

I take solace from what the Minister said about following it up because this has been dragging on since 2021, when I first raised it, for this family. It is not just about the family who lives near me. Throughout the country, there are families who are struggling with issues like this. I do not know whether it is due to recruitment or the type of recruitment that is going ahead. I again stress that the family really appreciates the staff who are coming in and the help Stephen and his family are getting, and do not have a bad word to say about it. It is the system that is wrong and needs to be changed. It is to be hoped that after raising it again with the Minister, and his commitment to follow it up, Stephen and his family will get some bit of solace and other families throughout the country will get the same.

See this speech in context