Results 421-440 of 1,050,809 for in 'Dáil debates' OR in 'Committee meetings' (speaker:Damien English OR speaker:Michael Healy-Rae OR speaker:Alan Farrell OR speaker:Maurice Quinlivan OR speaker:Matt Carthy)

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2023: Health Service Executive (24 Oct 2024)

Matt Carthy: I am conscious of time. I want to touch on what might be a fringe issue. It was reported during the summer that the Workplace Relations Commission, WRC, made a finding in favour of an administrative worker in the HSE being allocated the pandemic bonus payment during the summer. Are any of the witnesses aware of that?

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2023: Health Service Executive (24 Oct 2024)

Matt Carthy: The reason I asked the question is that I am relying on media reports to find out that an administrative worker who had been denied the pandemic bonus payment brought a case to the WRC, which found in that person's favour. Has that result led to a reconsideration of the pandemic bonus payment actually being paid? I take it that none of the witnesses are even aware there was a WRC finding...

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2023: Health Service Executive (24 Oct 2024)

Matt Carthy: Has Mr. Gloster not received any correspondence from, for example, the staff members of the Irish Blood Transfusion Service, or has the Department in respect of the fact that-----

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2023: Health Service Executive (24 Oct 2024)

Matt Carthy: It has.

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2023: Health Service Executive (24 Oct 2024)

Matt Carthy: Is that being re-evaluated considering that those staff did very important work during the pandemic period?

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2023: Health Service Executive (24 Oct 2024)

Matt Carthy: Does Ms McGirr have a fear that perhaps that could lead to litigation or a WRC case that could actually end up costing more than providing the payment to what is a fairly limited workforce who were doing essential work during the pandemic period?

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2023: Health Service Executive (24 Oct 2024)

Matt Carthy: Yes.

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2023: Health Service Executive (24 Oct 2024)

Matt Carthy: However, I am sure Ms McGirr can understand that because the numbers are so large, when we are dealing with a small group of workers-----

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2023: Health Service Executive (24 Oct 2024)

Matt Carthy: -----who were carrying out essential work during the pandemic, including literally sticking needles in people's arms at very close proximity, there could be a lot of resentment of the fact that they have been excluded.

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2023: Health Service Executive (24 Oct 2024)

Matt Carthy: It was limited to the health services.

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2023: Health Service Executive (24 Oct 2024)

Matt Carthy: During that period, the Department would accept that the Irish Blood Transfusion Service staff were working in close proximity-----

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2023: Health Service Executive (24 Oct 2024)

Matt Carthy: Rather than just getting the detail, I would ask that the Department fully review that situation. As I said, these were people who carried out what in my view was essential work. It was as risky as other types of work within the health services who fall under the scope of the scheme. These are employees who we need to continue to do very important work. I just have a fear that we could...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Disability Services (24 Oct 2024)

Disability Services

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Disability Services (24 Oct 2024)

Rose Conway-Walsh: 5. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth to provide an update on children’s disability network teams in Mayo, including staff vacancies, recruitment and waiting lists for assessment and therapy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43583/24]

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Disability Services (24 Oct 2024)

Rose Conway-Walsh: Too many children are waiting for therapies and assessment in County Mayo. I am trying to get a grasp on the staff vacancies in the children's disability network teams, CDNTs, and the waiting lists for assessment and therapy in County Mayo.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Disability Services (24 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: I thank Deputy Conway-Walsh for raising this question. I acknowledge the challenges faced by children and young people in terms of accessing services, particularly essential therapy services, in Mayo. The lead agencies there are experiencing ongoing challenges in recruiting across a range of disciplines and grades to fully staff the CDNTs. Recruitment is ongoing for administrative and...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Disability Services (24 Oct 2024)

Rose Conway-Walsh: I thank the Minister. The reality is that there are still too many vacancies. I take what the Minister is saying in terms of trying to attract staff. However, continually having vacant posts puts pressure on the workers who are there already. Last week, I was at a wonderful initiative with Mayo Autism Camp and Manulla FC. There were many parents and children there. Although the day was...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Disability Services (24 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: I fully agree with the Deputy on the challenges of recruitment. It is the big challenge in disabilities services right now. The core solution to that is to train more health and social care professionals, occupational therapists, speech and language therapists, physiotherapists and psychiatrists. We need more of them because the level of demand and need has increased, both because of...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Disability Services (24 Oct 2024)

Rose Conway-Walsh: That is part of the problem. Fine Gael has been in Government for the past 13 or 14 years and now we are looking to address these situations. The workforce planning should have been in place well before now. It is not a big surprise that there is such a high number of children with disabilities in need of support. I would say that this Government has failed children with disabilities and...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Disability Services (24 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: I thank Deputy Conway-Walsh for her passionate advocacy on behalf of that child and his family. What I have done as Minister is to recognise that for so long disability was the poor relation within the Department of Health. We have taken it out of the Department of Health and brought it into my Department. That applied from March 2023, more than 18 months ago. There is so much more...