I wish to raise a question as to unreasonable delay on the part of the Local Appointments Commissioners in filling two vacancies in my county. These vacancies are for dispensary doctors. One position became vacant last December and the other fell vacant last January. If these positions were filled in the ordinary way, as was the custom before the establishment of the Appointments Commission, the appointments would have been made in one case about 3rd January, and, in the other case, about 1st March. Since these vacancies occurred, we have been compelled to pay substitutes in those districts double the salary we would have had to pay to a medical man permanently appointed. This delay has caused the ratepayers of County Wexford about £100. I should like to know who are responsible for the action of these Commissioners. Will the Commissioners, or the people responsible for the delay, contribute towards the loss to the ratepayers caused by their inaction? It is most unfair that it should take six months to fill these vacancies. It seems to me that the Local Government Act and the Act establishing these Appointments Commissioners should be scrapped immediately. If every appointment is to cost the ratepayers £50 or £60 owing to delay, I think there is a good case for reverting to the old method of appointment.
I do not know their reason for doing this. I have tried in every way to get an explanation. I raised the matter at the County Board of Health meeting at which those doctors should have been appointed. We put it on the minutes two or three times. No notice was taken of it. I next raised it at the County Council meeting two months ago. It came before the Local Government Department on the minutes but no notice was taken of it.
At the last meeting of the County Council I also raised it and, when I gave notice here last Thursday of my intention to raise this question, we got a reply at the County Council meeting. That reply was full of red tape. There was no explanation for the long and serious delay and the big loss caused to the rates through the action of the Appointments Commissioners. I now see that my motion has borne some fruit. The advertisement for one of the positions appeared in last Saturday's "Irish Independent." The Commissioners seem to have got moving. I hope the second position will soon be advertised and filled and thus prevent this loss of £3 a week on each position to the ratepayers of Wexford. It is only to have the matter redressed that I bring it before the Dáil. I could not get it redressed elsewhere. I also asked the Minister a question but I got no satisfaction. I got some trifling information which did not meet my case. I bring the matter now before the Dáil in the hope of getting it redressed and having the loss to the ratepayers stopped. If we had been the cause of this loss of £100 I know that the auditor would have surcharged us. I hope that he will now surcharge the proper parties and make them pay for our loss. I do not know whether they were waiting for the qualification of their own friends, but we could get no satisfaction up to the present. That may be one of the causes for the delay.
