Results 6,461-6,480 of 26,351 for speaker:David Cullinane

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Home Care: Discussion (9 Feb 2022)

David Cullinane: I welcome all of our witnesses and thank them for their opening statements and work in this area. The purpose of this meeting is to discuss the recruitment crisis in the home care sector. Many of the issues raised by all of the groups are common and may of the solutions proposed are similar. I cannot ask questions of every group. Unfortunately, each member has a strict time limit of five...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Home Care: Discussion (9 Feb 2022)

David Cullinane: Okay. I have a number of questions. The answer is that Mr. Musgrave does not know. Will the advisory group consider the development of a professional home care sector?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Home Care: Discussion (9 Feb 2022)

David Cullinane: Will it look at a clear recruitment strategy? This matter has been highlighted by HCCI. We will have representatives of trade unions before us later. They and other groups are seeking changes to the complicated centralised system that they say is failing and does not work. Again, I imagine Mr. Musgrave's answer is that he does not know if the advisory group will look at recruitment.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Home Care: Discussion (9 Feb 2022)

David Cullinane: What about pay and conditions? Will the group look at that issue?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Home Care: Discussion (9 Feb 2022)

David Cullinane: The advisory group was announced in October. Do we know if it has been established yet?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Home Care: Discussion (9 Feb 2022)

David Cullinane: It has met unofficially.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Home Care: Discussion (9 Feb 2022)

David Cullinane: It was announced in October. We are in the middle of a crisis. The Government provided additional money that we all supported to provide additional home help hours. Budget 2021 provided for 5 million hours. Obviously, Covid had an impact on delivering some of those hours, but so too did the lack of staff. That recruitment crisis is one of the reasons we cannot deliver the level of home...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Home Care: Discussion (9 Feb 2022)

David Cullinane: A cross-departmental workforce strategy group was established. Are any of the groups represented here today on that strategy group? Have they been asked to participate in that strategy group?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Home Care: Discussion (9 Feb 2022)

David Cullinane: Family Carers Ireland has sought representation but has not received clarity about the structure or composition of the group or what its terms of reference are. We can add that to the list of questions for the HSE.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Home Care: Discussion (9 Feb 2022)

David Cullinane: I welcome the witnesses. We had many of the advocacy and representative groups before the committee earlier. I am not sure if the witnesses heard their presentations and the issues they raised, but they were very similar to the issues both trade unions have raised. Obviously, there is a consistency across what trade unions and the advocacy groups are seeking. The representative of Home...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Home Care: Discussion (9 Feb 2022)

David Cullinane: Mr. Ginley made a number of points in his opening statement with which I agree. He said that vacancies in the private and not-for-profit sectors are due to high turnover and staff morale within the sector. Is it fair to say that there are problems in recruitment in both the public and private sectors and that the HSE is also struggling to recruit, and that this in turn, as well as the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Home Care: Discussion (9 Feb 2022)

David Cullinane: Is there a problem with a difference in pay or no parity between the public and private sectors? Is that one of the key issues?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Home Care: Discussion (9 Feb 2022)

David Cullinane: Is it fair to say that both unions have concerns about the recruitment process? SIPTU highlighted as a particular issue the national centralisation of this.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Home Care: Discussion (9 Feb 2022)

David Cullinane: Is that because of a national panel?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Home Care: Discussion (9 Feb 2022)

David Cullinane: I have a question for both of the unions. We had some discussion earlier about the cross-departmental workforce advisory group that was established. Obviously, we hope that advisory group will look at all the issues relating to recruitment, retention, pay, parity between both public and private sector providers in terms of terms and conditions of employment, training and other crucial...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Home Care: Discussion (9 Feb 2022)

David Cullinane: The unions have made submissions.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Institutes of Technology (8 Feb 2022)

David Cullinane: 95. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the status of plans and funding to expand the Waterford Institute of Technology campus in preparation for the technological university; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5550/22]

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Further and Higher Education (8 Feb 2022)

David Cullinane: 118. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to assess medical, nursing and other healthcare profession places in higher education institutions to ensure sufficient graduates in these fields; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5549/22]