Marie Sherlock (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I am sure this sentiment has been expressed already, but people were rightly outraged by the scenes we saw occurring in Dublin Airport over the weekend and, indeed, earlier this year. The outrage stems from people having lost out on their holidays and missed flights. These could have been events they had planned for a long time. We must address the staffing issue at Dublin Airport. A terrible attempt has been made to place the blame for these issues over the weekend on staff absences. I saw reports stating there were 17 absences and that this led to the problems experienced in the airport. I do not buy that explanation.

In 2019, approximately 33 million passengers went through Dublin Airport without major incidents or delays. Fast forward to 2022, and the numbers of passengers using the airport are at approximately 95% of the 2019 figures, yet these massive backlogs are being experienced. The DAA, in its wisdom, introduced a redundancy package in 2020 that saw 300 experienced members of the airport security unit leave. It is because of that loss that we are now dealing with these issues. Those being recruited to posts are being taken on at a pay rate of €14.14 an hour, yet they are expected to take on enormous responsibility for the security of the airport. These newly recruited staff are also expected to come in under a variety of contracts. This includes the flexi contract, under which people are expected to come in at different hours and to different parts of the airport.

We must, therefore, ask serious questions of the DAA and, equally, of the Government. It is not good enough for the Government to blame the DAA or pass the buck on to someone else. The Government appointed the members of the authority to effectively run the airport. The DAA has failed to provide an adequate service. To be frank, as we are coming into one of the biggest weekends of travel in the year, it is unclear how these issues are going to be resolved any time soon. We must see better pay for the staff concerned and more comprehensive and better contracts. Ultimately, we must investigate how we lost those experienced officers in 2020 and whether some of them could be brought back into these roles.

While we are all talking about travelling and the situation at Dublin Airport, it is important to say as well that we have a major staffing crisis in the health sector. This is the silent recruitment and staffing crisis. All of us in this Chamber have our stories of people being allocated home support hours and then finding they cannot be fulfilled. As well as that, people are waiting three years and longer for a diagnosis from the new children's disability network teams. I would like, therefore, a debate on the issue of recruitment in the health sector with the Minister for Health, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, because this is the hidden crisis. Images of the scenes in Dublin Airport have been on our screens and we have also heard about the problems on the radio and read about them in the newspapers. It is the hidden recruitment crisis in the HSE and the wider health service that I do not believe is getting sufficient attention. We are all engaging with those people who talk to us about this in our own areas and, therefore, I would like the Minister for Health to come to the House to give a detailed explanation of what it is he is doing to address this staff recruitment crisis.