Keith Swanick (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I wish to propose an amendment to the Order of Business to the effect that No. 10 be taken before No. 1 today. The former is the Critical Health Professionals Bill 2017, which would allow all critical health employees of the Department of Health, the HSE and section 38 organisations to prolong their working lives for an initial two years on the basis of dual consent. This issue was first raised as an amendment to the Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2016, which passed through this House recently and which received widespread support from those on all sides. I am not suggesting that the Bill will cure the woes of our health system but it will help to ameliorate some of the issues surrounding staff shortages and the haemorrhage of talented and vastly experienced staff from our health service.