Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Government has repeatedly denied since the budget that there is a recruitment embargo in the health service but this does not tally with the reality on the ground. I have spoken to multiple people affected by the freeze and one said to me that in Mayo we have nurses, healthcare workers, psychologists and desperately-needed front-line workers who cannot be placed in permanent positions because of the recruitment freeze. They are left languishing on panels while patients are left languishing on trolleys and ever-increasing waiting lists. We are in danger of losing these people to the private sector or forcing them to emigrate. Then we will run around the world trying to entice people to come home and to work here. It makes no sense whatsoever. Patients are suffering as a result of these shortages. Operations and procedures are being cancelled on an ongoing basis. The remaining staff become burnt out. When will this embargo be lifted in order that local managers can permanently fill the positions needed to deliver vital healthcare?

See this speech in context