Erin McGreehan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State outlined a fairly depressing picture of staff vacancies in County Louth. I am aware the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, is absolutely relentless and that it is also up to us to be relentless in this cause and in pushing the HSE to implement the recommendations of all these reviews and scoping exercises. We must work. The HSE has a responsibiltiy to pull out all the stops to hire staff. It has a responsibiltiy to ensure those waiting lists are covered. If it is the case we go to private operators then so be it. We must do it. Children deserve the best and that is what we ask for as parents from the State. The present Minister of State sees this quite often in his constituency as well and he is a great advocate and supporter of the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, who has provided the HSE with the funding for these improvements. The HSE is now under the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth. It is about time the HSE looked at how it is not in line with the Department it is under to not provide these services to children and not provide the proper staffing levels.I thank Senator McGreehan for continuing to raise this issue. I have heard her speak about it several times and not just here in the Seanad today. Ensuring vulnerable children receive assessments and therapy services is of urgent importance. As I mentioned, the issue relates directly to vacancies across the network. The issue is being actively progressed by the HSE to maximise funding allocated by the Government in recent years for over 600 additional posts nationwide.

Improvements to waiting lists are dependent on suitable staffing levels. A range of measures designed to encourage staff recruitment and retention are being employed by the HSE to improve capacity. In addition, measures such as the development of new clinical guidance to replace preliminary team assessment and dedicated assessment teams are expected to provide enhanced capacity within the system ensuring access for families is improved. The measures being developed at national level and at local level in north and south Louth are expected to benefit families in the delivery of assessment of needs and therapeutic intervention. I agree with and reiterate the use of the private sector in the meantime until we get internal recruitment up to the level required. That should be prioritised immediately.