Results 5,341-5,360 of 11,255 for speaker:Colm Burke
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Oversight of Sláintecare: Discussion (Resumed) (6 Apr 2022)
Colm Burke: I am next on the list to ask questions. I will be very brief. My first question relates to Sláintecare and the implementation of it at a regional level. On the replacement of the independent chair for the consultant contract negotiations, that person retired back in December because they were appointed at High Court. A new chair has not been appointed. We now have a scenario where...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Oversight of Sláintecare: Discussion (Resumed) (6 Apr 2022)
Colm Burke: There was to be a chair of this independent group. There was to be a chair and the person who retired offered to compile a report to the new person appointed. We are four months down the road-----
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Oversight of Sláintecare: Discussion (Resumed) (6 Apr 2022)
Colm Burke: Is Mr. Watt saying there will not be a chair appointed?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Oversight of Sláintecare: Discussion (Resumed) (6 Apr 2022)
Colm Burke: This is not what was said to the medical organisations. This is the first that they heard that a new chair will not be appointed. Will a chair be appointed or not?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Oversight of Sláintecare: Discussion (Resumed) (6 Apr 2022)
Colm Burke: We have moved to a situation in four major medical facilities, namely, Donegal, Sligo, Mayo and Kerry, where they cannot get applicants for jobs. Many of the consultant posts are now one in two. What is Mr. Watt's answer for dealing with that issue? We were talking about Sláintecare in the context of having access to services, no matter what part of the country someone is in....
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Oversight of Sláintecare: Discussion (Resumed) (6 Apr 2022)
Colm Burke: But it is not happening. There are no applicants for many of the positions now advertised.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Oversight of Sláintecare: Discussion (Resumed) (6 Apr 2022)
Colm Burke: No. There are no applicants in respect of a large number of position.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Oversight of Sláintecare: Discussion (Resumed) (6 Apr 2022)
Colm Burke: What I am saying is that there is no-----
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Oversight of Sláintecare: Discussion (Resumed) (6 Apr 2022)
Colm Burke: However, it is not working. There was an independent chair. Now Mr. Watt is telling us he will not appoint an independent chair to deal with this issue.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Oversight of Sláintecare: Discussion (Resumed) (6 Apr 2022)
Colm Burke: It has been four months since the chair. This is the first they have heard that a chair will not be appointed.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Oversight of Sláintecare: Discussion (Resumed) (6 Apr 2022)
Colm Burke: When we have 838 vacant positions, why does it take four months to talk about a new process, without even talking about-----
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Oversight of Sláintecare: Discussion (Resumed) (6 Apr 2022)
Colm Burke: What do we do in the meantime, when we have no consultants, we cannot get surgery done and we cannot get people seen? We will push them all into the major centres like Galway, Limerick, Cork and Dublin.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Oversight of Sláintecare: Discussion (Resumed) (6 Apr 2022)
Colm Burke: Can I just ask----
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Oversight of Sláintecare: Discussion (Resumed) (6 Apr 2022)
Colm Burke: Can we set a target date so that we will have some progress made on this matter?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Oversight of Sláintecare: Discussion (Resumed) (6 Apr 2022)
Colm Burke: Is Mr. Watt quite happy to leave 838 posts vacant?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Oversight of Sláintecare: Discussion (Resumed) (6 Apr 2022)
Colm Burke: They are not being filled.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Oversight of Sláintecare: Discussion (Resumed) (6 Apr 2022)
Colm Burke: Which is not working.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Oversight of Sláintecare: Discussion (Resumed) (6 Apr 2022)
Colm Burke: However, it is not working.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Oversight of Sláintecare: Discussion (Resumed) (6 Apr 2022)
Colm Burke: Can I-----
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Oversight of Sláintecare: Discussion (Resumed) (6 Apr 2022)
Colm Burke: I want to ask one further question on the comment from Mr. Reid about the appointment of 82 assistant directors of public health nursing. That was in his statement earlier. I have the figures for public health nurses. In December 2014 there were 1,450 and in October 2021 there were 1,543. We are now literally going to appoint 82 assistant directors, which is one for every new nurse...