Senators:

I raised this issue at the Joint Committee on Health and Children. When I was teaching, I was obliged to give three months' notice if I wished to leave my job and I could only leave my job when somebody else was appointed in my place. It appears that one month's notice is sufficient in the health service and this can cause havoc. If an occupational therapist leaves his or her job, there is no replacement.

Senators:

I refer to a patient whose family contacted me. I am embarrassed to admit that I was contacted by the family of a patient in October and that I received a reply only in March to queries I made on her behalf. The reply in question indicated that there were no occupational therapy services for Carlow and that it was not possible to provide a definite date for an appointment. I ask the Minister to give consideration to this issue.

Senators:

Perhaps when health professionals working in this sector first qualify, they should be obliged to remain in the service for a certain period. In addition, the one-month rule should be changed in order that the HSE will have time to advertise for and recruit replacement staff. This would mean that patients would not suffer.

Senators:

A friend of mine visited the Royal College of Surgeons recently and informed me that many people from outside the State, particularly from countries in the Middle East, are training there. I have no difficulty with the latter and I understand that, from a financial point of view, it is attractive to colleges to take these people on because of the huge fees they can be charged. The problem is that when these people qualify, they immediately return to their home countries. This is unsatisfactory and we must reconsider the position. We must either fund the colleges properly in order that they will not be dependent on fees paid by foreign students or oblige those who come from abroad to train to remain here longer and give the State the benefit of their expertise and skills. I know of a Chinese student who had to repeat exams at Carlow IT recently and who was obliged to pay €1,500 for the privilege of doing so. Taking on foreign students is obviously lucrative for the colleges but there is a downside to this.