Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank both Deputies for raising this issue. I am from Cavan-Monaghan and do not live in the Dublin area, but I have heard much discussion in the media in recent days about the concerns of parents, particularly parents who are expecting their first child and who do not have access to a public health nurse to make those all-important milestone checks.

The Government remains committed to providing continued investment in the health workforce, including public health nurses, and ensuring that this service is available to those who need it. Public health nurses are employed by the HSE to deliver safe, quality and person-centred community nursing care across people's lives. There are currently 1,511 whole-time equivalent, WTE, public health nurses employed in the HSE. A further 27 posts were provided for in budget 2025. The Department of Health has requested that the HSE expedite recruitment to these posts in areas where child health developmental assessments have been impacted.

It is important to note that the HSE recruitment pause ended in July 2024. There is currently no impediment to normal recruitment or replacement of staff within agreed WTE limits. Each regional executive officer will continue to prioritise, recruit and replace staff within the approved numbers as appropriate, including public health nurses. There are known challenges with the recruitment and retention of public health nurses, and right across the health sector, particularly in parts of Dublin. The HSE has established a national oversight group with specific focus on community nursing services to address these issues. Several short-term, temporary solutions to prioritise resources and service provision in line with clinical needs have already been undertaken in areas most affected by high vacancy rates.

Some areas are operating a priority 1 service as per the HSE's national caseload prioritisation procedure. They are, therefore, prioritising essential care, including birth notification visits and post-natal assessments. As of last month, ten local health offices were using the national caseload prioritisation framework to provide services. These include the office in Lucan, which falls within the remit of HSE Dublin and Midlands, of which the former CHO 7, to which Deputy Gogarty referred, is part.

Where the prioritisation framework is used, child health developmental assessments have, in some instances, not been provided. I acknowledge the concerns of parents where access to these important public health nursing services is limited. The Department of Health is working with the HSE to address these challenges as a priority in the programme for Government. I take on board the suggestions made about how we can entice people into those all important positions as public health nurses.

In 2024, to attract more nurses to specialise as public health nurses, it was provided that existing nurses who wish to enter the public health nurse sponsorship programme could remain on their current salary scale. Public health nurses have seen their salary scale improve with the addition of one further scale point and the introduction of a long service increment. This measure has contributed to an increase in the number of applicants to the programme in 2024 and 2025. In addition, over the lifetime of the current public service agreement, public health sector staff, including public health nurses, will receive a pay rise of 9.25%. They are some of the introductions being made to try to address the issue, but I know, as has been raised tonight, if parents are living in the area and have a newborn baby or are expecting one, they need solutions right now. I take on board the suggestions made and the concerns raised.

See this speech in context