Colm Burke (Fine Gael)

Last May I raised the issue of recruitment of junior doctors. Many of their contracts are of six months duration and are again up for review on 11 January. I understand the Health Service Executive is running into the same problem it experienced on 11 July in terms of a shortage of junior doctors. Little has been done in the past six months on the issue of young Irish doctors leaving the country for jobs abroad. There is a need for an urgent debate on the issue.

There are more than 750 vacancies for nurses in private nursing homes. The operators of these facilities cannot secure the services of qualified nurses. This raises the question of whether there is a requirement for a new category of qualification between care assistant and the academic qualification that nursing has become. People who obtain a nursing degree now feel that a position in a nursing home does not meet their long-term requirements in terms of matching their qualifications. We must review the entire system. I recently attended a ceremony where awards were given for every category of person working in nursing homes throughout the State. More than 50% of the awards went to non-nationals, a recognition of their vital contribution to the health care sector. We must have a debate on the qualification criteria and why we are losing so many people from the system. I hope that debate will take place as soon as possible.