Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats)
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359. To ask the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to the high incidence of physical and verbal assaults on frontline healthcare workers; if he will take steps to ensure adequate funding for the Health and Safety Authority in order to establish a dedicated health sector unit to oversee workplace safety at all public healthcare facilities; if he will arrange for a full review of security measures at all emergency departments; if he will further arrange for a public awareness programme in this regard in order to reduce such assaults; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8014/23]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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Ensuring the safety of employees of the public health service is a priority concern. It is intolerable that our staff have to endure assaults while endeavouring to deliver health services. It is particularly unacceptable that some of these assaults are racist in nature. More than two in every five doctors and nurses employed in the HSE were not trained in Ireland. Without them, we could not provide essential healthcare to our most vulnerable citizens.

I am advised by the HSE that incidents of assaults have reduced since 2018, and I have asked the HSE to provide the Deputy with data in this regard. I have also asked the HSE to respond directly to the Deputy in respect of the operational elements of the question posed by the Deputy that pertain to them.

The Deputy is asking in respect of funding for the Health and Safety Authority (HSA), and in respect of tasking them with establishing a health sector unit with additional duties in this regard. The HSA is under the remit of the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, and as such, the Deputy may wish to raise those elements of her question directly with Minister Coveney.