Lynn Boylan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I refer to an issue that has been raised in the House by numerous colleagues concerning the ongoing situation in hospitals, particularly in emergency departments. It is nothing short of a disaster at this stage. I stress that this is not through the fault of any of the staff working in those hospitals. Last week, Tallaght University Hospital was extremely busy due to the high number of patients who presented at its emergency department. The pressure was such that hospital management had to issue a statement asking people with non-urgent conditions to visit either their local pharmacist, GP, GP out-of-hours service or local injury unit. Tallaght is not the exception in this regard. It is happening in hospitals right across the State.

We need to look at where the failings are in the health service. One of the accepted failings is the shortage of staff, which is one of the main issues in our hospitals. Last year, 442 Irish doctors applied for Australian work visas, with up to 1,800 nurses making similar applications. The question is why staff who are trained here and are very well-qualified are choosing to leave the health service. My colleague, Deputy Seán Crowe, recently chaired a meeting of the Oireachtas health committee on the topic of the welfare and safety of workers and patients in the public health service, to which he invited a cross-section of staff representatives. They pointed out that the latest statistics from the HSE show that between January 2021 and October 2022, there were 5,593 assaults against nursing and midwifery staff. Moreover, they noted that the incidence is considered to be underreported. A nurse who gave evidence to the committee, Ms Sylvia Chambers, said that in her 18 years in nursing, she has never experienced the aggression to which she has been subjected in the past few years. She indicated that during exit interviews, nurses are saying that they are leaving the health service because they are stressed and afraid in work and cannot provide the appropriate care.

Tomorrow, we will debate a motion put forward by the Labour Party on issues affecting the welfare of workers in the health service. I will not have an opportunity to speak in that debate, which is why I am raising the matter on the Order of Business today. The violence and abuse, including racial abuse, to which staff are subjected is not being adequately addressed. There is disappointment at the reaction from the Health and Safety Authority which has been extensively lobbied and engaged with on a number of occasions by staff representatives seeking a greater role for the organisation in the inspection of facilities and support for health service employees seeking prosecutions when they have been assaulted. I want to put it on the record that this matter needs to be treated urgently.