Marie Sherlock (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State. I am conscious that he is responding on behalf of the Minister for Social Protection. I thank her for the response. I originally submitted the matter to the Minister for Health but it was redirected to the Minister for Social Protection.I am glad to hear from the reply submitted by the Minister for Social Protection that this is a performance issue. Indeed, it is a performance issue for the HSE to address and, therefore, it is one for the Department and the Minister for Health, who have responsibility for the HSE, to address. I am glad to hear efforts are being made to address recruitment, but as the written reply makes clear, "Not unusually, the eastern area has suffered some short-term staff shortages". It is simply unacceptable that families will be waiting 12 weeks to register the birth of their baby. This could be so easily resolved by allocating some of that work to other offices. While I accept efforts are being made, they are simply not good enough.