Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)

I support the Sinn Féin motion. Every week, we discuss important issues such as this one in debates on Private Members' motions. I have lost count of the number of motions of this nature I have spoken to at this stage. That is testament to the need to reform the way we order business in the House in the next Dáil, of which I will not be a part. It becomes a little tiresome when there are these set-piece events. The Opposition introduces Private Members' motions, we speak to the issues of the day, the Government responds and there are short speeches. It is hard not to become a little cynical about the fact that speeches are all fit for a social media clip. This is the new paradigm we are in as politicians. No real business gets done, as such.

I acknowledge the work that has been done and the genuine attempts by the Minister and Minister of State across the floor to improve things. It is easy for us in opposition to say how wrong Ministers are and that they are constantly getting things wrong. If we look at the Minister and Minister of State opposite, by any objective standards their bona fides are genuine in terms of trying to assist and work on the myriad issues regarding disability services in particular.

If I have one critique, it is that I cannot understand why we have not yet cracked the recruitment egg. It seems to me, in my very simplistic analysis of all of this, that if we had all the requisite skills employed and the requisite number of whole-time equivalents employed, whether speech therapists, occupational therapists, audiologists or any other "-ologist" we want to mention, it would go a long way towards ensuring that the lives of the people we represent, our constituents who are the very people who need these services, would be significantly enhanced if they got access to the services they so desperately need. The HSE's children disability staff census and workforce review found that there were 817 staff vacancies. I question the veracity of those figures. I have a filing cabinet full of replies to parliamentary questions from the HSE and I have noticed it bombards me with figures. I question the veracity of the methodologies it uses to assess its own figures. However, let us take it at face value that there are 817 staff vacancies across 93 CDNTs. That represents a 36% vacancy rate. If there is a 36% vacancy rate, it means there is a child or adult at the other end of those waiting lists who is not getting access to a service.

I am not here to criticise but why have we not cracked the vacancy nut, so to speak? Why are we not able to recruit? Why is more energy not deployed by Ministers and the Government to bring people from around the globe back and create the circumstances in which people are willing to come back? While we have to take into account that people want to travel and live life and the circumstances in which they are employed, whether in the Emirates or Australia, why can we not attract people to come back and work in Ireland? Why can we not recruit enough people? I just cannot figure it out.

The HSE is spending millions through recruitment agencies on trying to employ people. Why is that failing? I do not understand it. It is well known that the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, has had a few altercations, if I can use that word, with the HSE on issues related to recruitment, assessments of need and so on. What is it about the HSE and its structures and culture that have been allowed to pervade Irish society in a way that ensures that when there is a programme for Government in place and a clear ministerial direction, the workflow does not work in a way in which the democratic will is recognised and respected? What prevents the vacancies that need to be filled from being filled?

I am being respectful when I say there is ministerial accountability built into the democratic process and so one can only blame the HSE for so long. At some stage, the Minister or Government of the day has a mandate to crack the whip. I fail to understand why we cannot recruit enough staff for the people for whom we all advocate. I see advocacy for the people we represent as a key role for Dáil Deputies. Why can I not get access to services for the people I advocate for when we are told the country is awash money? There is no shortage of money for capital projects and current spending. Why can we not get access to those services?

A small but significant example is the case of St. Killian's Special School. All of the Cork TDs engaged in lobbying recently, through parliamentary questions and with the Minister directly, for services in the school. The HSE very quickly found €40,000 for the provision of therapies in the school. I was absolutely delighted to hear that but the replies to parliamentary questions we received from the HSE stated the matter was a function of the Minister and the HSE had no control over it. However, the HSE, in a contradictory manner, was able to find the money for the school. It was a brilliant result for the school but it has now created exceptions for other schools. I suspect the HSE did not inform the line Minister that it was going to make this allocation. Some of the Cork TDs who were lobbying on behalf of St. Killian's found out about it a bit sooner than others.

It is my understanding that the line Ministers of the day were not informed of the allocation. There is something systemically wrong there because - I speak for Cork - Government and Opposition TDs for Cork generally try to work together. It undermined the process of advocacy. It begs the question of what will happen after December to St. Killian's and other schools and the pilot project that was supposed to be under way. Where stands that pilot project now? I understand St. Killian's was not part of the pilot project. I say all of this because I am hopeful that, given the amount of money available, subject to recruitment and vacancies that arise, services can flow for these children. That is a simple point I am trying to make.

The next few weeks will be spent out on the doors; let us call a spade a spade. Not much is going to happen until a new Government and mandate are in place. I hope any incoming Government would examine the issue of vacancies. Recruitment is the key, whether it is the housing, health or disability sector. Until such time as we have enough people to staff all of the required positions, the very people we are all standing up for here will still be minus the service they so badly need. If some energy could be put into that - it is something I would call for - the Minister would have cross-party support for it.

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