asked the Minister for Local Government and Public Health whether he is aware that 25 nurses were elected by the Dublin Board of Assistance to the staff of St. Kevin's Hospital, Dublin Union, on the 29th October, 1941; whether it is a fact that the qualifications of none of the applicants were placed before the Dublin Board of Assistance for their consideration and guidance in basing their selections; whether at least one of the candidates was notified officially that no interview was necessary, although only those candidates who were interviewed were recommended by the Medical Selection Committee as suitable for appointment; whether 17 of the 25 candidates recommended by the Medical Selection Committee as suitable for appointment on account of outstanding qualifications were rejected by the Dublin Board of Assistance without reference to qualifications or merit, and whether in view of the foregoing facts he will withhold sanction for these appointments and cause a Departmental inquiry to be instituted into the method of election by the Dublin Board of Assistance.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Dublin Union Nursing Staff.
From the information at my disposal the Dublin Board of Assistance dealt with the matter at their meetings on the 1st, 15th, and 29th ult., at each of which the Deputy is recorded as being present. On the 1st ultimo the board directed advertisements to be issued inviting applicants for appointment as trained nurses. At the meeting of the 15th October the board had before them the following report of medical staff:—"The medical staff have had before them 318 applications for 25 positions of temporary nurses. One hundred and eleven applicants reside in Dublin and are apparently qualified. Thirteen others who reside in Dublin are over age and are therefore disqualified. The medical staff recommend that 111 applicants residing in Dublin be interviewed by a board consisting of the resident medical superintendent or deputy, one or more of visiting medical staff, and the matron, and submit to board of assistance lists of all of these nurses qualified and suitable. `A' list to include nurses suitable for eight posts for which special experience in operation theatre or other special departments is essential. `B' list (including those in `A') suitable for remaining vacancies. Before taking up duty nurses should be medically examined."
According to minutes of proceedings the board made the following order:—
"Approved. Applications received to date to be submitted to the board."
At the meeting of the 29th October the resident medical superintendent submitted the report of the committee of the medical staff and matron on candidates interviewed in accordance with the board's instructions of the 15th October, 1941. The report is as follows:—
"We submit to the board of assistance lists—
(a) giving names of nurses interviewed who are specially recommended for the eight special appointments;
(b) nurses interviewed and specially suitable for remaining posts;
(c) containing names of all nurses interviewed including those in (a) and (b) who have all average training and are suitable for appointment.
Signed: William C. Cremin, F.R.C.S.I., D.P.H.; William O. Cremin, M.D., D.P.H., B.Sc.; Thomas C.J. O'Connell, M.D., M.Ch., B.Sc.; R. MacLaverty, M.D., B.Ch., Acting R.M.S.; Mary Bermingham, Matron."
At the meeting of the 29th October the board of assistance appointed all the applicants whose names appeared on the list marked (a) of the selection committee. According to the minutes of proceedings the board then proceeded to select 17 nurses from the lists of all remaining candidates except those over age and those whose applications were received after the 15th ultimo. The 17 candidates chosen include six of the applicants whose names appeared on list (b) of the selection committee, and the names of these applicants as well as eleven other candidates appointed were included in list (c) of the selection committee as nurses who had all average training and were suitable for appointment.
The matter of according sanction to the appointments will not arise until the board of assistance have furnished the Department with particulars of the applicants, including details of their qualifications. That information has not yet been furnished.
Is the Parliamentary Secretary aware that the order, made by the board on the 15th October, in relation to the matter of confining the selections to nurses with postal addresses in Dublin, was made between 10.30 and 11 o'clock in the morning, when less than half the number of board members were present, although the election was advertised to be proceeded with at 12 o'clock as was stated also on the agenda circulated among the members? Is he further aware that, notwithstanding the fact that it appeared to be the policy to select nurses with Dublin postal addresses, six candidates were interviewed with postal addresses in the country, two of whom were appointed and, in fact, I think, placed on the Medical Selection Committee "A" list?
I am not aware as to the time of day when a decision was reached by the board to restrict appointments to certain classes of people. I am aware that all the persons appointed were on some one of the lists submitted to the board by the selection committee. It is true that the board did not appear to follow the exact recommendations of the selection committee, inasmuch as the selection committee recommended 17 who were specially suitable for the remaining posts. At the same time the Deputy will appreciate that all the persons appointed, if they were not deemed to be specially suitable by the selection committee, were at least persons who were described by the committee as having average training and being suitable for appointment. I do not think I can throw any further light on the matter for the Deputy until the query sheets are returned to the Department. If, in fact, any of the candidates appointed by the board has not the necessary qualifications set out in the advertisements, sanction will not be given to the appointment.
Will the Minister admit that, having regard to the fact that the Dublin Board of Assistance was the final selection committee, at least the qualifications of the nurses should have been placed before them?
That, I think, would be a reasonable request, but I am not aware that the qualifications of the candidates recommended for appointment were not available to the members of the board. I understand that the qualifications of the candidates were available to the members of the board. Perhaps that is not so.
Can the Minister not clearly infer from the fact that, at the meeting of the Dublin Board of Assistance, at which the nurses were elected, a motion was proposed, seconded, and defeated, that the qualifications of the candidates on the A list be supplied? I am asking the Parliamentary Secretary whether he cannot clearly infer from the fact that that motion was put to the meeting and defeated that the qualifications were in fact not placed before the board?
In any event, if any candidate has been appointed who has not the requisite qualifications, such appointment will not be approved. The appointment to one of those 25 vacancies of any candidate who has not the necessary qualifications will not be sanctioned when the query sheets are returned.
Do I understand from the Parliamentary Secretary that what he means by the necessary qualifications are the best qualifications of the candidates who presented themselves?
The Deputy must bear in mind that this is not a competitive test.
Is the Parliamentary Secretary aware that all the qualifications of the 25 nurses were available to every member of the board?
So I understood, but Deputy Hannigan seems to question that.
What the Deputy means by the qualifications being available to the board is that the correspondence from the nurses in connection with their qualifications was in a black tin box as indicated by the resident medical superintendent only when the motion that the qualifications be placed before the board had been defeated.