Vol. 517 No. 3
195 Mr. Naughten asked the Minister for Health and Children the number of unfilled posts in each health board area for speech therapists, dentists, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, general practitioners, psychologists, public health nurses, orthodontists and optalmologists; the measures, if any, he is taking to fill these posts; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9701/00]
The identification of staffing requirements and the deployment of staff within the overall financial and employment levels set by my Department is a matter for the management of each health agency. Current personnel policy for the health service provides that health agencies may fill non-consultant replacement posts without recourse to the Department. For this reason the information sought by the Deputy in relation to vacancies is not available.
It should also be noted that recruitment of personnel is carried out on an ongoing basis in most agencies, and the level of vacancies fluctuate accordingly. At any given time, significant numbers of personnel would be in the process of being appointed by employers or moving from one employment to another.
