Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 18 Feb 2025

Vol. 1063 No. 1

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate

Special Educational Needs

Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan

I thank the Minister of State for being here tonight. It is great to have the relevant Minister of State to take the matter after a long debate so I appreciate his presence.

This is a matter that he will be familiar with as it relates to his former electoral area. Ballincollig was in Cork North-West so he will be aware of the issues there. I do not want to go through the history of it because it is a history six or seven years in the writing. The school authorities are quite happy and content to provide for an ASD class on its premises at Scoil Eoin in Ballincollig but unfortunately, due to restrictions on the site and the lack of adequate space, it was determined that a knock and rebuild was the only option to provide the space. They have had numerous meetings with the Department officials on site. Subsequently, the Department, in written replies to parliamentary questions to myself and other Deputies, found that the cost would be excessive and that the project proposed would not progress on that basis. This is going to and fro over some years.

The school authorities commissioned an engineer’s report. It was demonstrated that the part of the building they were going to demolish had a problem with subsidence, rewiring, reroofing, disability access and so on. The rationale they were trying to put forward was that the demolition job would have to be done anyway to provide for the ASD class so they should basically bite the bullet and get on with the project.

The Minister of State knows me a long time. I was a teacher 15 years. I have often been in the House excoriating schools boards of management for not providing opportunities for ASD classes for their students. What irks me about this case in Ballincollig is that the school is ready, willing and able to provide a class for its 20 or so students with an autism diagnosis.

Back in January, before the Minister of State and the Minister for Education, Deputy McEntee were appointed, I received an equally depressing answer from the Department which stated it was pleased to inform me that another school in the school planning area had been identified as having suitable capacity to accommodate special education classrooms required for the area and a proposed accommodation brief had been sent to that school. The reason I describe it as a bit depressing is ultimately the Department told the school’s board of management in that letter that it has identified an ASD class that can go to another school. Then the next question is what do we do with the 20 kids in Scoil Eoin? Are we telling them and their parents that they should transfer to this other school site? I am not sure what the Department was hinting at with that response but it was a bit disappointing. It is not good enough. I do not think that was the suggestion but if it was, that is not a good enough response from the Department. I would like to think the students' educational needs could be provided for on the site of their existing school.

Last week, I had a conversation with the Minister of State ahead of a meeting I had with the board of management and he agreed to meet the board of management with me, one to one. That is deeply appreciated and I hope that after that meeting we will some progress. I just ask that he be open-minded about how this ASD class is provided. I spent many years in here trying to urge school principals up and down the county of Cork to open these classes. Here we have a school that is ready, willing and able but unfortunately, due to the restrictions on site, cannot provide it at the moment. I ask that the Department re-engage and use a bit of imagination to help deliver the class.

Minister of State at the Department of Education (Deputy Michael Moynihan)

I appreciate the Deputy raising the issue. I will deal with the specific issues he has raised in respect of Scoil Eoin. I thank the Deputy for the question and for the opportunity to outline how the Department and the NCSE continue to support children with additional needs. I want to stress that enabling students with additional needs to receive an education appropriate to their needs is an ongoing priority for this Government, myself and the Department of Education. In 2025, the Department will spend more than €2.9 billion on special education, which is more than a quarter of the entire education budget.

This funding has greatly boosted the numbers of special classes, special education teachers and special needs assistants.

In relation to the school referred to by the Deputy, I can confirm that the Department received an application in 2021 under the additional school accommodation, ASA, scheme. The application was for funding for the provision of three special education classrooms.

The Department's school building technical team carried out an in-depth review of the school site in 2021. The review confirmed that the school and the site are at maximum capacity and that it would not be possible to provide the required accommodation on site unless a vast amount of existing accommodation was demolished and replaced with two-storey accommodation, as the Deputy outlined in his opening remarks.

At that time, considering all the relevant impediments to delivering the accommodation and the site constraints, the Department was not in a position to provide funding for the significant demolition of the school building. In light of this, officials in the Department contacted the NCSE to advise it of same and to establish the special classes in other schools in the area. Subsequently, funding was approved under the ASA scheme in June 2022 for the replacement of prefabs on site with one modular unit.

Specifically in relation to the Deputy's request, I understand he has been engaging with the school authorities on this for quite some time and that it is something the Deputy feels strongly about. I am led to believe that there was some further engagement in this regard but I am quite happy to engage, through the Deputy, with the school to see is there anything further that we can do in relation to this. I am not giving any commitments but I would certainly engage with the Deputy and the school authorities to see is there a way forward.

Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan

I thank the Minister of State. At the outset, I should have congratulated the Minister of State on his appointment because he is a perfect appointment for this role. He has the passion for it, having led the disabilities committee for a number of years. I am happy that Deputy Moynihan is in the role because he is sincere in respect of the work and efforts he will make on behalf of the children of Scoil Eoin and their parents.

I go back to my previous point and will refer to the response to my previous parliamentary question. The Department responded to say it is too expensive to demolish and rebuild. As outlined by the school's own engineer, a part of the school will have to be demolished anyway. I walked its corridors and the subsidence there is quite visible. This school will have to be rebuilt, in some shape or form, in the coming years. It is inevitable, given the deterioration there. I plead with the Department's officials to come out on site again, have a sit-down with the school and its engineers, and come up with a solution.

As I said, there are approximately 20 children here who have an autism diagnosis. The Minister of State is aware that were those children to have to even consider moving to another setting to avail of an ASD class position in another school, it might prove very difficult for some of them. There are variants in terms of the needs of each student. I ask that common sense prevail. Heads can be knocked together.

As I said, for years before Ballincollig became a part of my area, I came in here and gave out about how Ballincollig, as a large urban centre, had a deficit in the number of ASD classes for an area with its population size. To be honest with the Minister of State, I said that they outsourced their problem to villages such as Farran, Ovens, Dripsey and Inniscarra over the years. There is an obvious requirement for additional ASD class provision in Ballincollig. I just hope, as I said, that common sense can prevail and that people can sit around the table.

Deputy Michael Moynihan

On a general comment, it is welcome overall on the part of the Department and the NCSE that large schools are engaging with the process on additional special classes. It is hugely important that this happens and that they engage.

On the point the Deputy made about the subsidence, has that information been fed back to the Department? If any technical or professional report they have drawn up on the subsidence on the site has been sent back to the Department, we can follow it up. If there is any information that the school has, we can follow it up. I will come back to the Deputy with a response on any other documentation that he may have or any information he has that he wishes to submit to the Department.

Special Educational Needs

Deputy Erin McGreehan

First, I wish the Minister of State the very best in his role and congratulate him. It is a hugely important brief and out of all the Members I know across the Houses, he will take it on with sincerity and gusto. I wish him the very best of luck with it.

This evening, I am asking for an update regarding special ASD classes in County Louth, both at primary and secondary school level. I have many parents contacting me quite regularly, particularly in relation to second level schools. They are at their wits' end and are afraid their child will not have a school place come September.

I acknowledge that the previous Government doubled the special classes. It introduced 11 new special classes. As the Minister of State said in his speech in the previous debate, there are 400 new classes to be allocated for the school year of 2025.

I ask that County Louth will get some of those classes, in particular, for second level schools. I believe there are only six ASD classes at second level in Dundalk and with a population of over 40,000 people, when one looks at that, it is unsustainable.

It is a brief question. As the Minister of State well knows and has been thrashed out throughout this evening, parents are at their wits' end. They are incredibly worried.

Education is a right. It is supposed to be a special, wonderful time, particularly that transition between primary and secondary school where parents are looking towards the future, looking towards what schools they would pick for their child and what suits the child best. When you have no options, that is basically it; you have no options. You struggle to place your child in any class. It is a terrible time.

Deputy Michael Moynihan

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue.

Over the past four and a half years, we sat on the disability matters committee. I know the passion the Deputy brings to the issue of special education in Louth. In many of the discussions we had at that committee, she brought forward the challenges that are there, not only at primary school but post-primary as well and, indeed, in preschool and the AIM programme. In one of the long debates that we had in the Joint Committee on Disability Matters, the Deputy raised the correlating of information from the AIM programme onward to ensure that the education system was better prepared. We are doing that in the Department. I thank the Deputy for her commitment to special education and for the work she did on that committee and in Seanad Éireann, as well as the work that she continues to do, in relation to special education.

As the Deputy outlined in her contribution, a huge amount of money is being spent and 400 extra classes are being opened this year alone.

We need to look at some communities - the Deputy mentioned County Louth - and we will be working hard. Extra SENOs have been put in place and more people have been working to this end. We are far ahead of where we were this day 12 months ago in relation to providing special education places for children with additional needs but it is not good enough. We simply need to do better at both primary and post-primary levels. We need the information from very early on to make sure the State is properly empowered to make sure there are no gaps within the education system.

The Deputy mentioned post-primary education. It is one of the areas that we are having a particular difficulty with in some communities in respect of children who are leaving primary school but have nowhere to go come 1 September. As I mentioned in the previous debate, I met parents at school gates whose children were leaving primary school education in the last week of June and they did not know where they were taking up education the first week of September. I do not mind sharing with the House that as a public representative, I felt totally inadequate when meeting those parents on that day. In the role I have now, I will work as hard as I can to make sure that is not the plight of any parent or any children in my time in office.

The Deputy mentioned County Louth. The Department of Education, the NCSE and all the officials will work to ensure that places are provided, both at primary school and at post-primary, in a timely manner and that families are not completely stressed out for six, seven or eight months not knowing what will happen.

We need to respect the children who have additional needs and we need to respect the families, parents and communities by having this done in a timely manner.

I will work with the Deputy regarding County Louth and specific schools, areas or even policies she would like to raise. I know she is passionate about this issue. She has always shown that when we have worked together in the past. If there are specific schools, communities or policies Deputy McGreehan would like to raise in terms of County Louth, I have no difficulty in meeting her and working my way through them.

Deputy Erin McGreehan

I very much appreciate the Minister of State's offer to initiate my policies. The script he provided states that there are 98 ASD classes in County Louth - 75 at primary level and 23 at post-primary level. There is a clear inequality. We must be focused on ensuring we have classes for our primary school students through to their transition into second level. As the Minister of State well knows, there are far too many parents in limbo. We must work tirelessly to increase the number of ASD classes from 23 to ensure that every child who is in sixth class now has a school place in September.

Deputy Michael Moynihan

The Department of Education, together with the NCSE, has been working with parents, schools, patron bodies and other stakeholders in County Louth and across the country to provide sufficient special education placements for children with special needs, in this case in the Louth area. By the end of this year, the number of special classes available nationally in mainstream schools will have doubled from 1,800 to more than 3,700 for the 2025-26 school year. This includes 400 classes the NCSE will sanction for this September.

Of the 409 new special classes sanctioned by the NCSE for the current year, 289 are at primary level and 120 are at post-primary level. Of the new special classes sanctioned for the 2024-25 school year, 16 are in County Louth - 13 at primary level and three at post-primary level. That brings us to the nub of the point that the Deputy wants to make, namely, that there be a focus on the post-primary level. I will take that request back. The total number of special classes in County Louth is 98 - 75 at primary level and 23 at post-primary level. I take the point made by the Deputy and we will work with her and the communities in County Louth to make sure we address any shortfalls.

Housing Schemes

Deputy Catherine Connolly

Gabhaim buíochas leis an gCeann Comhairle as ucht an cheist seo a phiocadh. Tá sé thar a bheith tábhachtach do Ghaillimh agus do chórais áitiúla ar fud na tíre. Tá an scéim seo ann chun cosaint a thabhairt do thionóntaí atá i dteach agus é ar intinn ag an tiarna talún an teach a dhíol. I gcásanna mar sin, is féidir leis an tiarna talún dul chuig an chóras áitiúil agus an chéad rogha a thabhairt dó an teach a cheannach. Mo léan géar agus faraor géar, de réir mo thuisceana, roimh an Nollaig, cuireadh an scéim seo ar fionraí. Dar leis an údarás i nGaillimh, bhí deireadh leis an scéim. Tá a fhios agam go dtuigeann an tAire Stáit gur chruthaigh sé seo deacrachtaí ollmhóra don chomhairle cathrach agus do na hoifigigh a bhí i mbun conarthaí tithe a chríochnú.

I wish the Minister of State the best in her new career. I thank the Ceann Comhairle for selecting this issue. It is extremely important. I have tried to get clarity on it every way I can. I have tabled parliamentary questions and raised it under Questions on Policy or Legislation. I am referring to the tenant in situ scheme that was introduced on 1 April - perhaps that might give us some idea - 2023 as one of the many schemes brought in by the Government to help with the housing crisis. It was meant in particular to protect tenants who were in receipt of HAP, RAS or other payments. If the landlord was selling the house, he or she would give first choice to the council so that the tenant would be protected.

Unfortunately, the council contacted me around 13 or 14 December to say it had been informed verbally by the Department that the scheme had been suspended. That is what we were informed. Then, a press release from the Department to Raidió na Gaeltachta stated that the scheme had not been suspended. After Christmas, contact with the council was resumed and it confirmed it could not proceed with the purchase of a number of properties - 15 units that were in danger - and bring closure to those because the council had been informed by the Department that the tenant in situ scheme had been suspended, not just in Galway city, but in other local authorities as well. There were 15 units ready to close but their purchase was in danger of not being completed due to lack of clarity about the scheme. There were 12 units in one particular place, one unit in another, one in another and so on. Most significantly, 11 units had tenants in situ. If the contracts are not completed, those tenants will be homeless.

Speaking without exaggeration, the housing crisis in Galway is worse than in Dublin. We are dealing with people who have been on a housing waiting list for between 15 and 20 years with little hope. On top of that, we are repeatedly told that the homeless services have no places.

What decision has been made? Has a decision been made to suspend the tenant in situ scheme? If not, will the Minister of State clarify that? If it has been suspended, when will it be reinstated and what targets will be set? We just want clarity urgently, particularly as it relates to the 15 units I cited.

Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (Deputy Niamh Smyth)

I thank Deputy Connolly. It was lovely to hear her using our native tongue when asking her question. Unfortunately, I am not as fluent or líofa as she is to be able to respond.

Deputy Catherine Connolly

Fós. Beidh tú.

Deputy Niamh Smyth

The Deputy's question is a very serious one and it is on the issue that this Government will be judged on. I have some statistics from the Department, but on the Deputy's specific question, I am not aware of the tenant in situ scheme being suspended. I will share with the Deputy the information I have with me. If it does not have specific details relating to her question, I will bring it to the attention of the Department to try to get clarity for her.

Under Housing for All, the Government will deliver 47,600 new build social homes and 3,500 social homes through long-term leasing in the period 2022 to 2026. Our clear focus is to increase the stock of social housing through new build projects delivered by local authorities and AHBs. Under Housing for All, there is provision for 200 social housing acquisitions each year. In 2023, however, following the lifting of the temporary eviction ban and a reported uplift in sales by landlords of homes in the HAP and rental accommodation schemes, the Government introduced a temporary measure - the tenant in situ acquisitions scheme - in order to mitigate the risks of homelessness arising for tenants being supported by HAP or RAS.

A key objective of the programme is to prevent potential homelessness where other solutions cannot be found for the affected tenants. It is a matter for local authorities to assess the circumstances of each case and decide the appropriate action. All available options should be considered in order to prevent homelessness up to and including acquisition.

The Deputy's specific question was on Galway local authority and she stated that it had verbally confirmed to her that the scheme had been suspended since, I believe, 2023.

Deputy Catherine Connolly

No, only since before Christmas.

Deputy Niamh Smyth

I beg the Deputy's pardon. I will take a note of that. These options include securing the continuation of the tenancy with the landlord, securing alternative accommodation through the HAP place finder, allocating another rental accommodation scheme property or allocating a social housing tenancy, including voids, untenanted properties and properties available with an AHB.

There were 1,500 acquisitions approved for 2023 and the programme was extended by the Government into 2024 with a further 1,500 acquisitions, 1,300 of which would be tenant in situ. Local authorities have delegated sanction to deliver the 1,500 acquisitions, subject to those acquisitions being within acquisition cost guidelines issued by the Department.

More than 1,800 homes were acquired by local authorities and approved housing bodies in 2023. While final figures for 2024 have not yet been collated, it is expected that 1,500 acquisitions were completed. The programme for Government contains a commitment to continue with the tenant in situ scheme. As a result, we have to assume it is not suspended. There are annual targets and budgets assigned for each local authority. Pending a Government decision on the 2025 programme, local authorities are asked to continue to take appropriate steps and ensure that their first response is through local tenancy sustainment structures in order to support households and prevent homelessness in cases where tenants have been served with notices of termination by their landlords. The Deputy stated that there were 15 homes in Galway County Council's area that are at risk of not being completed and of not being open to tenancies because of that suspension. I have taken note of what the Deputy said in her and will get her a response.

Deputy Catherine Connolly

I thank the Minister of State. I have given the details. I gave them to the Taoiseach when he took the question. There are 15 units with 11 sitting tenants. I wish the Minister of State the best, but when we get an answer like this that contains a lot of padding, it really is unhelpful. If the Minister of State was standing on this side of the House, she would be saying the same thing to me.

Let us look at my very specific question. Has the tenant in situ scheme been suspended pending a decision to be made very soon? We are informed that a decision will be made shortly. Do I take it from this that the existing scheme has been suspended pending said decision? Should I believe what the city council told me in writing and during a phone call, namely that it has been informed that the tenant in situ scheme has been suspended? I would be delighted if the Minister of State would confirm that it has not been suspended and that the council can go ahead and complete the contracts relating to the 15 accommodation units and their 11 sitting tenants.

I am a little confused as a result of the reply. The Minister of State indicated that the programme for Government contains a commitment to continue the tenant in situ programme and that there are annual targets in place. The reply also states: "A decision on a tenant in situ programme for 2025 is expected to be made by Government shortly." Nowhere in the two pages of the detailed reply is it stated whether the existing scheme - not just for the city council in Galway but also for the Minister of State's local authority and other local authorities - has been suspended pending a decision on the new scheme. Mine is a simple question that requires a simple reply. If the Minister of State cannot give me that reply tonight, I would appreciate it if I could get one tomorrow in order that we will where this local authority and other local authorities stand.

Deputy Niamh Smyth

I appreciate the Deputy raising this matter. She referred to Galway County Council specifically.

Deputy Catherine Connolly

Galway City Council.

Deputy Niamh Smyth

I commit to the Deputy that I will contact the Minister for housing and his Department tomorrow to get the Deputy a clear answer on whether it is suspended.

Health Services Staff

Deputy Paul Nicholas Gogarty

Here is a quote for the Minister of State:

Every child gets free health and development checks from 0 to 5 years. This is to make sure they are healthy and developing normally.

Checks will happen with a healthcare professional, for example your public health nurse (PHN), GP practice nurse or GP. They will normally happen at home or at your local health centre.

You can use these visits and health checks to ask any questions or talk about any concerns about yourself or your baby.

This is not misinformation on a Facebook post generated by some IT farm in Russia. This is not a typical post on X. This is not even a statement from the White House briefing room. This is our own Health Service Executive, but it is factually misleading, because in the constituency I represent, Dublin Mid-West, within community healthcare organisation, CHO, 7, in areas like Lucan, parts of Clondalkin, Newcastle and elsewhere, parents have been unable to get health checks. Stephen Donnelly, the former Minister, confirmed that GPs do not do the checks. Parents have tried to have them carried out. The Government has acknowledged many times before that this is a problem. The main responsibility for carrying out the checks rests in the hands of our hard-working, hard-pressed and underpaid public health nurses. As we know, along with staffing in other areas of healthcare, there is a serious shortage of public health nurses across the country. This is especially true in my constituency. Despite advertisements at job fairs abroad, we have not been able to get nurses.

I have been raising this matter for several years. If we cannot get these healthcare professionals in, we have to look at new ways of doing it. That is why I believe that a Dublin allowance would make a great deal of sense. There is a precedent in this regard. There is such an allowance for inner London and outer London. There is something similar in Paris. This is an important matter, particularly as 14,000 of the 80,000 nursing staff in the country in 2010 have left. We need to bring those people back.

Deputy Naoise Ó Muirí

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for selecting this matter for discussion. I remember these development checks being carried out in respect of my children not so long ago. They are vital for good early childhood development. The checks include, as Deputy Gogarty mentioned, visits to the clinic and public health nurses coming to people's homes. They make sure that children are healthy and developing normally. If the checks reveal issues, it is really the first time for making early interventions and bringing in other services and other professionals to support a child's development. I always found that public health nurses were really good at their job. They are experienced, are grounded, build good rapport with children and parents and set people's minds at ease.

It is concerning to hear from constituents that checks are not being done locally. A family in Killester contacted me. They were sent to Millmount in Drumcondra for their first check and then were told that neither Millmount nor Killester could send a nurse to them for the second check. A local development company in Coolock had a similar experience. It is getting feedback in Coolock and nearby areas that the checks are not happening. Those areas are marked by economic and social disadvantage. The last thing we need is to load issues relating to health checks and developmental issues onto the backs of hard-pressed families who live in the areas in question.

I congratulate the Minister of State on her new post. It is vital that the HSE gets recruitment done as soon as possible in order to rebuild these teams. There is a need to have new nurses recruited and appointed in order that checks can start again. This is a really important front-line community service for young folks in particular. I urge the Minister of State and the Department to work with the HSE. I also urge that what we are discussing should become a priority for Government.

Deputy Niamh Smyth

I thank both Deputies for raising this issue. I am from Cavan-Monaghan and do not live in the Dublin area, but I have heard much discussion in the media in recent days about the concerns of parents, particularly parents who are expecting their first child and who do not have access to a public health nurse to make those all-important milestone checks.

The Government remains committed to providing continued investment in the health workforce, including public health nurses, and ensuring that this service is available to those who need it. Public health nurses are employed by the HSE to deliver safe, quality and person-centred community nursing care across people's lives. There are currently 1,511 whole-time equivalent, WTE, public health nurses employed in the HSE. A further 27 posts were provided for in budget 2025. The Department of Health has requested that the HSE expedite recruitment to these posts in areas where child health developmental assessments have been impacted.

It is important to note that the HSE recruitment pause ended in July 2024. There is currently no impediment to normal recruitment or replacement of staff within agreed WTE limits. Each regional executive officer will continue to prioritise, recruit and replace staff within the approved numbers as appropriate, including public health nurses. There are known challenges with the recruitment and retention of public health nurses, and right across the health sector, particularly in parts of Dublin. The HSE has established a national oversight group with specific focus on community nursing services to address these issues. Several short-term, temporary solutions to prioritise resources and service provision in line with clinical needs have already been undertaken in areas most affected by high vacancy rates.

Some areas are operating a priority 1 service as per the HSE's national caseload prioritisation procedure. They are, therefore, prioritising essential care, including birth notification visits and post-natal assessments. As of last month, ten local health offices were using the national caseload prioritisation framework to provide services. These include the office in Lucan, which falls within the remit of HSE Dublin and Midlands, of which the former CHO 7, to which Deputy Gogarty referred, is part.

Where the prioritisation framework is used, child health developmental assessments have, in some instances, not been provided. I acknowledge the concerns of parents where access to these important public health nursing services is limited. The Department of Health is working with the HSE to address these challenges as a priority in the programme for Government. I take on board the suggestions made about how we can entice people into those all important positions as public health nurses.

In 2024, to attract more nurses to specialise as public health nurses, it was provided that existing nurses who wish to enter the public health nurse sponsorship programme could remain on their current salary scale. Public health nurses have seen their salary scale improve with the addition of one further scale point and the introduction of a long service increment. This measure has contributed to an increase in the number of applicants to the programme in 2024 and 2025. In addition, over the lifetime of the current public service agreement, public health sector staff, including public health nurses, will receive a pay rise of 9.25%. They are some of the introductions being made to try to address the issue, but I know, as has been raised tonight, if parents are living in the area and have a newborn baby or are expecting one, they need solutions right now. I take on board the suggestions made and the concerns raised.

Deputy Paul Nicholas Gogarty

These checks are crucial for the early identification of any developmental concerns, allowing for timely interventions. and they can significantly enhance or basically curse a child's prospects in the future if it is not looked at. Parents are understandably concerned about the need to have their children assessed in a timely manner, and it cannot be done privately. Maybe that needs to be examined in the context of something like the treatment purchase fund while we are trying to sort it out.

In the limited time I will mention the cross-cover arrangements in place for priority cases. It is not fair, taking the country as a whole, that one area can be well staffed and then areas such as in my constituency are not as well staffed and the load is not being spread out. That needs to be examined, but there was little mention of a Dublin allowance in the response. I would like to see it looked at because it is best practice in other countries, and as well as pay increases, we need to entice people in high-cost environments to come to work here.

Deputy Naoise Ó Muirí

I thank the Minister of State for her response. I agree with Deputy Gogarty that something needs to be done around Dublin. The numbers are pretty stark. The health service capacity review of 2018 envisaged a big increase in the service by 2021. Baseline capacity was meant to be 2,000 public health nurses nationally by 2026. We are at just over 1,500, which is almost 500 short in terms of where the service is meant to be by now. I acknowledge there are challenges in recruitment and in keeping public health nurses, but it is a serious issue now and has to be dealt with straight away, whether through the NTPF or some other mechanism. I again urge the Minister of State that we try to prioritise it and get some capacity back into the Dublin region. These parents are worried about it, and it is a concern for them, as she will understand, that they get access to a service and to those checks again.

Deputy Niamh Smyth

I thank both gentlemen again for raising this important topic. The Government remains committed to providing continued investment in the health workforce, including public health nurses. I take on board the suggestions relating to capacity, recruitment and the Dublin allowance. There is also that piece about how we maybe have lots of staff who are willing to be in the HSE and public health and there are areas like Dublin, including the Deputies' constituencies, where they are thinner on the ground.

The 27 WTE posts were provided for in budget 2025 and the Department of Health has requested that the HSE expedite these posts to areas where child health developmental assessments are impacted. Several short-term, temporary solutions to prioritise resources and services provision in line with clinical needs have been undertaken in areas most affected by the high vacancy rates. In 2024, to attract more nurses to specialise as public health nurses, it was provided that existing staff nurses who wish to enter the public health nurse sponsorship programme could remain on the existing point of their current salary. As of November 2024, 86.6% of all three- to nine-month child development assessments were completed in time and before them reaching their 12-month old milestone. I acknowledge the concerns raised tonight and that the Deputies are raising them on behalf of their constituents. I acknowledge the suggestions they have both brought to the table with regard to how to address it.

Cuireadh an Dáil ar athló ar 9.25 p.m. go dtí 9.12 a.m., Dé Céadaoin, an 19 Feabhra 2025.

The Dáil adjourned at 9.25 p.m. until 9.12 a.m. on Wednesday, 19 February 2025.