asked the Minister for Social Welfare why his Department is short of medical referees; and if, in view of the fact that long delays are experienced in deciding appeals because of such staff shortages, he will state what action he proposes to take in the matter; how many medical referees are in his Department's service; and how many are needed to ensure efficiency in the service.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Medical Referees.
14.
The present cadre in the medical referee section of my Department is one medical adviser, one deputy medical adviser and 11 medical referees. There are at present three vacancies for medical referees two of which are filled by doctors employed on a fee basis. Arrangements have been made by the Civil Service Commissioners for the holding of a competition which should be held shortly. I do not accept that long delays are, in fact, experienced in deciding appeals because of staff shortages.
Would the Minister agree that if somebody who was ill and was declared not unfit by one of the Minister's officers, though his own doctor certified him as being unfit, fails to get a referee to consider his case for six weeks at the end of which time he is declared to be unfit, this is an unfair way to deal with the sick poor of this country?
There are not many such cases. It is sometimes not possible for 11 doctors to get around to all the cases as quickly as they might.
But these people are not getting any money. They cannot go to the grocer with their own doctor's certificate and get food on it. Does the Minister know that the average period of waiting is five or six weeks and will he not agree it is a grave hardship that when somebody has been declared not unfit he is unable to get money anywhere until he is seen by the referee? The referee has three or four meals a day while the unfortunate person whom he is supposed to examine and to certify has to do without any food. It is a disgrace.
Would the Minister explain why he is discriminating against women applicants for positions as medical referees? He did so in an advertisement in a newspaper.
There is no discrimination.
There is no discrimination yet women doctors are offered £600 less than men applicants.
The Deputy is referring to an article written in a recent daily newspaper.
The Deputy is going on an article which he wrote to the effect that there is discrimination against women doctors applying for posts as referees who are offered salaries which are £600 less than those of male doctors.
I am sure that we have sufficient referees to give a reasonable service. We are adding three more as a result of occupational injury cases which mean we have more demand for referees. We have suitably qualified men capable of doing the work.
This is the first time it has been open to women doctors and the Minister is discriminating against them.
Will the Minister agree to one thing: that in view of the grave hardship being caused to so many poor people it is only reasonable they would get the benefit of the doubt if they are certified as unfit by their own doctors pending the hearing of an appeal?
I am not satisfied the Deputy is correct——
I will give the Minister dozens of cases.
There has to be the referee and there has to be a specialist.
They are not synonymous.
There is the other possibility of having payment continued for a time. This has always been the case.
Is the Minister aware that there is on record in his Department the fact that a person certified as not unfit by one of his referees on a Wednesday died of the illness of which he was complaining before the following Wednesday?
That happens in everyday life.
It should not happen.
Before replying to the next question I should like to say that I may have unwittingly misled Deputy Harte when replying to an earlier question on behalf of the Minister for Foreign Affairs. What I was trying to convey is that it is expected that between now and the end of this year negotiations will have been completed and the terms of the treaty brought before Dáil Éireann and voted on.
We thought the referendum would be next year.