Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick East, Labour)
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Question 55: To ask the Minister for Health and Children if she will waive the moratorium on staff recruitment in the mental health community teams and child and adolescent teams to ensure that vital posts can be filled to facilitate the implementation of A Vision for Change; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10429/10]

Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael)
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Question 79: To ask the Minister for Health and Children her views on the impact of the moratorium on the recruitment of nurses and essential staff in mental health services; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10466/10]

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Independent)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 55 and 79 together.

The 2009 Employment Control Framework, which encompasses the moratorium, contains a number of provisions that are designed to ensure that key services are maintained insofar as possible.

The Framework provided for the creation of 225 new development posts, including 35 posts specifically for the development of child and adolescent mental health teams.

The Framework also included a general exemption from the moratorium for certain therapy, psychologist and counsellor posts. This was designed to provide further flexibility to the HSE in order to maintain key front line services and to support the implementation of policies such as A Vision for Change.

The 2009 Employment Control Framework also provided for a process whereby a limited number of exceptions to the moratorium were approved by my Department with the consent of the Department of Finance. Amongst the exemptions approved during 2009 were 23 mental health nurse posts at the Central Mental Hospital and 36 mental health nurse posts at St Loman's Hospital, Lucan. These exceptions were approved on the basis of the two hospitals making better use of their staffing resource, leading to overall efficiencies in the delivery of services.

A 2010 Employment Control Framework is currently being finalised between my officials and the Department of Finance. Although this Framework is not yet finalised, I expect that in 2010, it will again provide my Department and the HSE with the ability to deal with critical exceptions to the moratorium once the overall reduction in health employment numbers, as agreed by Government, are being met.