Lorraine Higgins (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I know that this is not the Minister of State’s specific area of responsibility and that she is standing in for the Minister for Health, Deputy Leo Varadkar, but that answer is not satisfactory. I am not disputing the Government’s level of care, but I am disputing the fact that decisions were made last February to hire 20 staff for the unit in question. In his response the Minister goes on about staff shortages, but that is not the whole picture or answer. There are agency staff in place. Perhaps it is time we interviewed them and made them permanent and cut the cost to the Exchequer. The Minister needs to intervene in this matter to get these jobs up and running and make 20 people permanent. Obviously, the offshoot of this and the multiplier effect in Loughrea and Ballinasloe would be enormous. I ask the Minister of State to use her offices to contact the Minister. I have tried to contact him, but I have not received a satisfactory response. I would greatly appreciate it if the Minister of State used her good offices to ask him to intervene to sort out the matter at his earliest possible opportunity.