Colm Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

There are quite a number of vacant consultant posts in Irish hospitals. Negotiations were held and a new pay structure was put in place for new entrants. An entrant can come in at between one and nine on the pay structure but there is a stand off between the HSE and Irish Medical Organisation about how that will be adjudicated on regarding the pay scale that applies to an applicant. It is wrong that this has occurred when there has been a clear agreement since January. As a result, quite a number of posts will not be filled until this issue is resolved. I ask that the Minister for Health come to the House to clarify what is being done to try to resolve this problem. We talk about waiting lists but we cannot sort them out until consultants are appointed and we cannot appoint them until this issue is resolved so it needs to be given priority.

My second point concerns nursing homes and the fair deal scheme. This year, we are putting €993 million into the scheme, and rightly so, to provide over 2,350 beds for people in nursing homes. In addition, there will be between 5,000 and 6,000 beds in community nursing homes. The perception is that we are recovering quite a lot of money from the estates of people who have been in nursing homes and who have died. I received the figures this morning during a Commencement debate. We should remember that we have been putting in roughly €993 million per year over the past six years, which is about €5.4 billion in real terms.