Keith Swanick (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I wish to discuss my amendments. I am disappointed that they were not ruled out of order. They were designed to address the situation of mandatory retirement for critical health professionals in the public health system.These are senior decision makers in our system, who are forced to retire for no reason other than their age. As Professor Crown stated during the 2015 debate, we are not so flush with trained experienced staff that we can afford to offload them voluntarily. The Longer Healthy Living Bill 2015 received cross-party support. The Oireachtas Joint Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality examined in detail the broader issue of mandatory retirement in the context of the Employment Equality (Abolition of Mandatory Retirement Age) Bill tabled by the then Labour Party Deputy, Anne Ferris. One of the submissions was from Dr. Enda Shanahan, who helped me formulate some of my amendments. He stated that two years prior to coming before the committee he was compelled to retire from the health service, where he worked as a specialist hospital doctor. He wrote to the management, and the then Ministers, Deputy Howlin and Senator Reilly, indicating he was able and willing to keep working in the public health sector after the age of 65. He explained he was physically fit, still running all distances up to and including marathons, and medically fit for purpose as certified by the Medical Council's continuous professional development process. The answer was that retirement was mandatory on reaching the age of 65. At no point was any objective effort made to assess his suitability to continue working. He was retired purely because of a date in the calendar.

The health service is on life support. It is in dire need of resuscitation and reform. As a doctor and a Senator who is trying to be constructive, pragmatic and solution driven, I am bitterly disappointed the amendments have been ruled out of order on a technicality. The amendments would have helped in a small way to ameliorate the staff shortages which plague our health system. Last night, we saw the "RTE Investigates" programme which highlighted the shambles and cover-up that has become the norm in our health system. A simple "Sorry" does not cut it any more for the Irish people. We are embattled by staff shortages, a shortage of senior consultants, not enough GPs and a dearth of highly qualified specialist nursing staff. We have an ailing and failing health service. I intend to introduce to the House a new Bill comprising these amendments.

I remind Senators and the Minister of State that at present 250 consultant posts are unoccupied and 25% of all vacancies received no applications. I welcome Dr. Enda Shanahan, who contributed to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality and who is in the Gallery.