Colm Burke (Fine Gael)

I would like to raise the issue of absenteeism in the health service. It may have been raised previously but I would like to raise it again because it is important at a time when there is much difficulty in making ends meet in the health service. There was a 19% absenteeism rate in one hospital in this country for the month of January. One out of every five workers was not at work when they should have been. The interesting figure is that the absenteeism of junior doctors was only 1.24%, and these are people who work up to 80 hours per week. There is now a name for it, "duvet day", when people feel it is inappropriate to get out of bed to come into work. It is a real issue that must be looked at and tackled. If it is a problem in a particular hospital or unit of the health service, the reason for it should be examined and a clear message sent that we, as taxpayers, cannot afford to allow it to continue. We need a debate on how we provide for full pay for persons on sick leave. It is part of a debate we should have with the Minister, particularly when we consider all of the money collected in income tax last year did not cover the full cost of the health care service. This year we will also have a difficulty with the amount collected in income tax not covering the health care budget. It is an extremely important issue. It costs every taxpayer and puts lives at risk when people stay away from work when there is not a genuine reason for it. It is an issue we should debate the next time the Minister for Health appears in the House.