Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 22 Nov 2022

Vol. 1029 No. 6

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate

An Garda Síochána

Deputy David Stanton

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for selecting this issue and the Minister of State, Deputy Ossian Smyth, for being here this evening to respond. I congratulate the Minister for Justice and the Government on the publication today of the Policing, Security and Community Safety Bill. That is landmark legislation that marks a new departure for policing in Ireland. I will focus on community safety. It is central to the reforms in the published Bill today. It talks about ensuring that people are safe and feel safe. For decades, sociologists all over the world have recognised that the fear of crime can be as damaging and in some cases more damaging than crime itself. It is not always clear that the fear of crime is associated with actual crime rates. It is associated more often with social and physical vulnerability factors than with actual crime rates. Some studies show that community policing where police interact even briefly with residents and business owners the fear of crime reduces significantly within such neighbourhoods. Lowering fear of crime enhances the well-being of residents and business owners. This is where the Garda Reserve has a huge role to play.

On 19 October 2021, the Garda Reserve Strategy 2021-2025 was published. I congratulate the Commissioner and his team for producing a strategy with measurable objectives and a clear timetable. It is an excellent document. It speaks to diversity and inclusion. In the foreword, the Commissioner talks about the delivery of a proactive high visibility policing which contributes to keeping people safe. That is why I would like to see recruitment to the Garda Reserve starting as soon as possible. After all, it is more than a year since the strategy was published. On 25 October 2021 I was informed in a reply to a parliamentary question that Garda management and the Government were committed to increasing the number in the Reserve to 2,000. A year ago the number in the reserve was 439, now it is 389, so the numbers are falling rapidly. I understand there was a pause in recruitment while the strategy was being developed. The Policing Authority, in its Policing Priorities 2022-2024, sees Garda visibility as a key area in supporting and ensuring community safety and that one of the areas of measured success will be the implementation of the Garda Reserve strategy. In March last year, the Minister told me by way of a response to a parliamentary question that recruitment to the Garda Reserve would be launched later in 2022. On 24 May last, the Minister told me it was anticipated that a recruitment process would be launched in late 2022 or early 2023, predicated on the Public Appointments Service, PAS, as to the timetable for the recruitment process. On 20 October last, I was informed that a new recruitment campaign would be formed in the second half of next year, that is, 2023. That will be almost two years since the excellent strategy on the Garda Reserve was published. I think that is too far in the future. My purpose here this evening, while of course recognising the exclusive responsibility with the Garda Commissioner for the recruitment, training and deployment of Garda members and members of the Garda Reserve, is to respectfully request that the recruitment campaign for the Garda Reserve begin early in 2023 as originally anticipated. The Garda Reserve has a great range of functions laid down in legislation. We actually debated this quite a number of years ago. I was here at the time. The Houses saw the value and importance of the reserve, and that is why I believe that putting off the recruitment process until this time next year is too far away. I would like to see it starting in the new year. The more visibility we have on the streets of people in Garda uniforms, the better. It helps the Garda. There are people who want to be part of the Garda Reserve and give back to the community by being part of it. The Commissioner recognises that in the strategy. I ask that the Commissioner, who I hope is listening this evening, and his team, would take note of this and would work together with the Department to ensure the recruitment begins as soon as possible in 2023.

Minister of State at the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform (Deputy Ossian Smyth)

On behalf of the Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee, I thank Deputy Stanton for raising this issue in the House. The Deputy will appreciate of course that the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the allocation and distribution of resources. However, I can inform the Deputy it is anticipated that the Garda Reserve recruitment process will launch in the coming year. As the Deputy may already be aware, the launch of a new Garda Reserve recruitment campaign is a priority of the Garda Reserve Strategy 2021-2025, which is an important element of the Government’s plan to modernise and strengthen An Garda Síochána under the plan set out in A Policing Service for Our Future. The strategy is informed by an internal review of the reserve and sets out key commitments including recruitment, training, development, deployment, governance and evaluation. A priority is the new recruitment campaign next year, on foot of which new reservists will be appointed for five years initially. The campaign intends to target a broad and inclusive range of candidates in keeping with the reserve’s role as a visible form of community engagement. There is ongoing engagement between the Department, An Garda Síochána and the Public Appointments Service to ensure that the recruitment campaign is inclusive of diverse and underrepresented groups with the intention of removing perceived barriers. An Garda Síochána recognises the Garda Reserve offers policing experience to a wide range of people from diverse backgrounds and communities. Fostering and increasing diversity and inclusion in An Garda Síochána will improve service delivery by harnessing the unique talents and life experiences of people from all backgrounds. I am advised that An Garda Síochána is utilising established outreach forums and recruitment campaigns in line with the organisation's workforce plan.

Consideration is also being given by An Garda Síochána to ensuring the Garda Reserve can serve as a pathway to future recruitment competitions for Garda members where individuals have a desire to progress on to that position. The strategy further aims to ensure that members of the reserve are fully supported by local Garda management and that the role is recognised and promoted throughout the organisation.

The Department of Justice is currently engaging with An Garda Síochána on revisions to the Garda Síochána (Reserve Members) Regulations, SI 413/2006, which governs the reserve ahead of the commencement of this recruitment process. The Garda Commissioner has established an implementation group and oversight committee to ensure the strategy delivers on its objectives. The Minister looks forward to working with him to increase the number of members of the reserve and realising its full potential as a valuable resource in visible policing and in providing a pathway to full-time membership of An Garda Síochána, including from minority communities.

Deputy David Stanton

I thank the Minister of State for his response. As a former Minister of State at the Department of Justice, I can see where this is coming from. I agree with everything the Minister of State has said. The only thing that is missing is a date for starting the recruitment, which the Minister of State has not addressed although it was the main point I made.

One issue I recognise in the Minister of State's response is the pathway to full membership. The reserve strategy acknowledges this when it states that the Garda Reserve provides an opportunity to experience a career in policing and may encourage some individuals to pursue a full-time career as a member of An Garda Síochána. The internal review found that while reserve gardaí have access to a specific stream during recruitment campaigns, the benefits to the individual and the organisation are limited. It goes on to state that the strategy proposes to examine the opportunity to develop the recruitment stream for reserve gardaí, taking account of their operational experience. Therefore, there is a way to achieve this.

For 23 years, I was a member of the Army Reserve, the FCA. We often lost the best and the brightest to the Permanent Defence Force, although I do not know how they missed me. They got a taste of Army life, they liked it and they joined up. The same can happen here with the Garda Reserve, which can be a pathway to full membership. We know there are challenges at the moment to Garda recruitment and that is another reason I would put forward as to why we should begin this as soon as possible. It would help with enlistment into the Garda.

I was previously told that we cannot have both at the same time but, with respect, I do not agree as that is to talk about two different groups of people. If we get people into the Garda Reserve, they will not all want to join the full-time police force, but a certain number of them, younger people in particular, may join up, get a taste of it and make a career choice based on that. If they make that career choice to join the full-time gardaí, the chances are they will stay there and make a full-time career of it.

I rest my case. I hope the Minister, the Garda Commissioner and the Department can work together and move on this early in the new year.

Deputy Ossian Smyth

I thank the Deputy. I have listened carefully to his initial comments and it is clear he has been following up on this issue, which is close to his heart. He can see the benefits of the Garda Reserve and he has been persistently trying to follow up on when the recruitment campaign will start. The information I have been given is the information I have passed on to him, but I can pass on any further questions to the Minister.

I agree with the Deputy's view that this can lower the fear of crime. My experience with the Garda Reserve is that when we meet its members, it is a different experience from meeting more experienced gardaí. I certainly met people who did not look like they were gardaí and who came from different ethnic communities. I think that helps in building connections with communities. Part of the objective is also that if gardaí are understaffed in an emergency situation, they can draw on extra resources. It seems to be working in that way.

This can serve as a pathway to further recruitment. Clearly, it can act in the same way that an apprenticeship does in that members of the Garda Reserve can realise it is a career they enjoy, they can see the full-time gardaí at work and decide it is something they want to apply for. It allows a period of trial and testing. As the Deputy said, it is a similar experience in the FCA before people go on to the Army.

There is certainly a place for both. There is a place for people who are volunteering within their community, although we always have to make sure they are volunteering for the right reasons and there have to be checks and balances about that. There is also room for people who are full-time traditional gardaí and who are fully paid, and so on.

I understand the Deputy wants to know when the recruitment campaign is starting. The information I have is that it is starting in the new year. I will pass on the Deputy’s concerns to the Minister, Deputy McEntee.

An Garda Síochána

Deputy Jim O'Callaghan

I wish to raise the associated issue of what I will refer to as the recruitment crisis in An Garda Síochána. At present, we have approximately 14,300 attested members of An Garda Síochána. In my opinion, that is not enough and we need closer to 16,000. The reason I say that is not simply because of the ever-increasing population in this country, but also because of the ever-increasing number of crimes that are being created as a result of laws being made by this House. Sometimes, Members of the Oireachtas do not recognise or acknowledge the fact that when we make criminal laws, we are creating greater work for An Garda Síochána.

The reason I say there is a recruitment crisis in the Garda is because, this year, we have only been able to recruit 90 members. In fairness to the Government, it recognises that we need to get garda numbers up. In budget 2022, we provided for the recruitment of an extra 800 members of An Garda Síochána, and in budget 2023, we provided for the recruitment of 1,000 extra members. However, when we look at the fact we have only been able to recruit 90 members this year, it emphasises that we have a recruitment crisis.

I want to propose to the Minister of State a number of proposals which I think will be effective in seeking to tackle this recruitment crisis. If we do not tackle it, we are going to find ourselves in a situation, perhaps next year, where we simply do not have sufficient numbers. One of the things we could do quite quickly is to look at changing the retirement age of An Garda Síochána. At present, we lose many qualified, experienced and knowledgeable members of the force because they are required to retire at 60 years of age. If we are having difficulty in recruiting members, we should look at increasing the retirement age for a period of years, and that is obviously something that can only be done in consultation with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform.

A second thing we could do is build upon what Deputy Stanton said in his previous contribution, when he spoke about trying to recruit members from the Garda Reserve. The reason we need to recruit more members into the Garda Reserve, as Deputy Stanton noted, is because that will necessarily provide another flow of recruits into An Garda Síochána.

I also think we need to look at a proper recruitment campaign. When we look around this city, we see the effort to recruit people to work in the health service in Australia. We need a much more active and vibrant campaign when it comes to recruiting people into the Garda.

Another point we cannot shy away from is that this has become a much tougher job and a much less attractive job than it was many years ago. I am not going to talk about the specifics of the horrific incidents we saw over the weekend in parts of Dublin, when gardaí were being attacked but, unfortunately, many people do not find the job as attractive as it was previously. As a society, we need to start emphasising more the importance of the special role gardaí play in protecting our communities. It is a difficult task but it is a task we cannot shy away from.

We must also recognise that in order to make it a more attractive job, we need to ensure there is better protection for gardaí. In particular, I am concerned about the fact I hear body cameras will not be provided to An Garda Síochána until 2024. We need to expedite that.

It is essential that we put together a policy that formulates how we are going to recruit more people into the force. If we do not do that, we are going to find ourselves in the very difficult position, because of ongoing and consistent retirement, that we simply will not have sufficient numbers to police the country and to enforce the laws we make. I am interested to hear what the Minister of State has to say in response.

Deputy Ossian Smyth

On behalf of the Minister, Deputy McEntee, I thank Deputy O'Callaghan for raising this issue. While recruitment to An Garda Síochána has faced challenges in recent times, this has been due in the main to public health restrictions in place during the Covid-19 pandemic. The effect of the restrictions has been a slower than anticipated flow of new entrants into the Garda College.

While the Minister for Justice has no direct role in the recruitment of Garda members, she and the Government are committed to building stronger, safer communities and to continually supporting and strengthening An Garda Síochána. As the Deputy will be aware, the Garda Commissioner is responsible by law for management and administration of Garda business, which includes the recruitment and training of Garda members and staff.

The Minister, Deputy McEntee, engages regularly with the Commissioner and senior Garda management on the issue of recruitment and wants to ensure every support is in place to deliver on Garda recruitment.

I assure the House that the Government is committed to ensuring An Garda Síochána has the resources it needs, with record funding of more than €2.14 billion allocated to the Garda Vote in budget 2023. This includes provision for the recruitment of up to 1,000 additional Garda members and 400 Garda staff in 2023 and will enable sustained ongoing recruitment of Garda members and staff. I am advised that 369 new gardaí have been attested so far this year. A further intake will enter the college this month, with all of those trainees coming from the 2022 recruitment campaign. Those who commence training later this year will attest in summer 2023. In total, more than 460 trainees will have graduated from the Garda College or started their training in 2022.

I am informed by the Garda authorities that there are currently 14,283 Garda members across the country, representing an increase of almost 12% since 2015, when there were 12,816 Garda members. The substantial increase in the number of Garda staff has allowed for more than 870 Garda members to be redeployed to front-line duties where their policing experience and training is of the greatest use to the service and the community.

The Minister was pleased that, in response to the recruitment competition held earlier this year, more than 11,000 people indicated an interest in joining An Garda Síochána, more than double the level of interest in the previous campaign, in 2019. This shows there is still enormous interest in policing as a profession in Ireland. I encourage all those called from the current competition not to defer but, rather, to make sure they are fully fit and ready to take up the opportunity.

I have been advised by the Garda Commissioner that a new Garda recruitment campaign will be launched in early 2023 and this will ensure a steady flow of recruits into the Garda College, with 200 new recruits planned to enter Templemore every three months, starting from January.

Deputy Jim O'Callaghan

I thank the Minister of State for his reply. As regards the statistics he provided, he said that 369 recruits were attested this year. I am conscious that the Minister of State is not at the Department of Justice. My understanding is that many of the gardaí who were attested this year were recruited last year. There can be little doubt that we need to get the numbers up in An Garda Síochána. The Minister of State made the point that approximately 11,000 people expressed interest and he stated that they should get themselves fully fit. My understanding is that, notwithstanding the interest, many of the applicants are not passing the fitness test. I am concerned about that. We may need to reconsider that fitness test. Is it too strenuous for those undertaking it? If a significant number of people are failing the fitness test, it should be reconsidered.

I am conscious that the Garda Commissioner is ultimately responsible for matters within An Garda Síochána and recruitment, but that will not happen unless there is Government action to ensure we recognise a problem that is coming down the tracks. We, as a Government, need to get more involved in actively encouraging the Commissioner to get involved in recruitment.

I welcome the amount of money the Government is making available to An Garda Síochána. I do not think the Government can be criticised for the fact that in the budget this year it has provided funding for 1,000 new gardaí. However, as I said, the numbers are not adding up in that regard. If one looks at the numbers attested last year, one will see it was not the case that the 800 gardaí for whom funding was provided in budget 2022 were attested. I am concerned that, notwithstanding the provision of a budget for 1,000 gardaí to be recruited next year, there will be difficulty in reaching that number.

We need to recognise the problem and ask the Commissioner to address it. Let us run a public advertisement recruitment campaign to get people into An Garda Síochána. It is a great career.

Deputy Ossian Smyth

I thank the Deputy. He mentioned that we in the Oireachtas are good at creating laws, but we have to take into account that those laws have to be implemented and that every law we pass creates new requirements and burdens on the Garda. Where possible, we should remove some of the laws that are on the Statute Book. He made the point that any recruitment campaign we run should be vibrant. Such campaigns should be competitive with other positions for which people might apply. The State, although perhaps not the Garda, can certainly be accused of having a more functional style of communicating with the public than a commercial entity would have.

The Deputy made three specific proposals, which are good to hear. First, he suggested that the retirement age be increased to over 60. Obviously, that would take industrial relations and negotiations to achieve. Second, he proposed that we recruit from the Garda Reserve and that we should have a more vibrant campaign. He also suggested that the fitness test and whether it is preventing people from entering the Garda be considered.

I have to make the point that I, as much as anybody else, am horrified and shocked to see videos of gardaí, including female gardaí, being beaten in the street. I would hate to see that repeated. I am sure many actions will be taken to protect those who are tasked with protecting us, and that such events will not happen again.

Rural Schemes

Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív

Before I commence my Topical Issue matter, my understanding is that, under Standing Orders, if a Minister cannot come into the House to deal with a matter, he or she should notify the Deputy concerned, who is meant to have the opportunity to get the matter deferred until the Minister is able to come to the House.

Acting Chairman (Deputy David Stanton)

That is my understanding as well.

Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív

I checked all my emails when I came down here this evening from Belfast. I cannot find an email from the office of the Minister, or from anybody else, to say that the Minister wanted to defer the matter. I have been waiting weeks to have this matter taken. That decision is at the discretion of the Ceann Comhairle and I accept that. However, I find it totally unsatisfactory that when I eventually get what is a very important issue taken, I find that all I am going to get, with no disrespect to the Minister of State who is present, is a standard answer with no feedback. We changed the Standing Order so that a Deputy can get the Minister in if he or she believes it is an issue that needs to be addressed by the Minister. I ask the Acting Chairman to pass on to the Ceann Comhairle that I am very disappointed the Minister is not here, that I am dealing with the matter now under protest and that, on the next occasion, I expect to be treated in a courteous manner and in accordance with Standing Orders in respect of this matter.

The issue I wish to raise is a serious one. Under the LEADER programme before last, a LEADER company was delivering the programme in east Galway, another was delivering it in Connemara, including all the Gaeltacht, and a third, based on Inis Oírr, was delivering LEADER for all the offshore islands not connected to the mainland by a bridge or causeway. More than half the island population of the country live in County Galway. Under the most recent programme, everybody involved in LEADER in Galway was shocked by a high-handed decision that Galway would have only one LEADER company and one sub-regional group. That decision was opposed on the ground. Eventually, the LEADER programme was delivered by two companies, namely, Galway Rural Development in east Galway and Forum Connemara in Connemara. We lost the battle on the islands, however.

It is important to point out to the Minister that, geographically, Galway is the second-largest county. Not only that, one could almost say it is two counties geographically. A person cannot get from Connemara to the huge area east of Galway without going through another local authority area, that is, through the city, unless one takes a boat across the lake.

Connemara is cut off completely and the area from Ballinasloe to Clifden is 166 km long. Galway is also a very long county from north to south, stretching on the east side from Dunmore in the north right down to Gort and Portumna in the south, and on the west side, from Cornamona, where I live, and Cong in the north all the way down to south Connemara.

There was a huge protest the last time. The people there got the two companies but, amazingly, the Department has decided that this will be one subregional area again. I find this extraordinary. The Department has also told the islanders they will be part, and a very small subpart, of the county LEADER programme. This has a significant effect because the way the money is being divvied out is by subregional area. For example, Cork, has three such areas - south, north and west - while we have only one for this huge county. The way the money is divvied out is that €3 million goes to each subregional area. We claim that since we have two companies, we should be getting two allocations of €3 million and the rest should be divvied out on the basis of rurality, or density of population, and disadvantage, against which we have no argument.

We ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development, Deputy Humphreys, to reverse two decisions before it is too late. One is that she declares that Galway is now two subregional areas, one for Connemara, which is the way it will be delivered one way or the other. The companies and people have agreed that and everyone wants it. I ask, therefore, that we get it delivered that way and that we get the reinstatement of our island LEADER company.

Deputy Ossian Smyth

On behalf of the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter. LEADER is a key programme within Our Rural Future and, as announced recently, the expression of interest stage to select the groups to deliver the next LEADER programme is now open. The allocation for each LEADER area was also announced as part of the process.

The programme has made an immense contribution to the development of rural Ireland, including the offshore islands. The funding allocation commitment of €180 million for 2023 to 2027, when taken together with the allocation of €70 million under the transitional programme for 2021 and 2022, shows that all LEADER areas have an increased allocation of core programme funding compared with the core programme funding allocated for the corresponding seven-year period of 2014 to 2020. Importantly, all of the €180 million will be allocated up front to LEADER areas. This is a change from the 2014 to 2020 programme where €30 million was withheld to fund initiatives delivered at a national level, such as the LEADER food initiative. The subregional area of County Galway has been allocated €9 million for the 2023 to 2027 period. When taken in conjunction with the transitional funding for County Galway of €3.6 million for 2021 and 2022, this gives a total LEADER allocation of €12.6 million for the period 2021 to 2027. This represents a 3.55% increase of approximately €430,000 on the 2014 to 2020 period.

A number of factors were considered when deciding on the funding allocations. Along with minimum allocations, these factors included population density and deprivation index. This approach is similar to the approach taken in the previous LEADER programme, with the relevant population and deprivation figures updated to take account of the passage of time. This approach ensures the funding is targeted in a transparent and fair manner to the rural communities most in need of LEADER support. As is the case with the current LEADER programme, the subregional areas for the new LEADER programme will correspond with county boundaries. This alignment will help to ensure coherence of LEADER funding with other initiatives and policies delivered on a county basis and so help to deliver the best impact and value for money for LEADER.

The offshore islands will continue to be aligned with their relevant subregional area. However, as island communities have particular needs and priorities, within the context of the emerging national islands policy, it is envisaged that the LEADER programme can play a key role in delivering on these needs. In recognition of this, a number of important elements will be included in the model for the new programme. Any local action groups, LAGs, selected in an area that includes island communities will be required to identify in their LEADER strategy specific actions, developed in consultation with the island communities, to cater for the challenges faced by those communities. These LAGs must include indicative budgets in their LEADER strategy for the implementation of such actions. In addition, a representative of the island grouping in each subregional area must be included in the decision-making body of the LAG.

It is now important that the key public and private stakeholders in communities throughout Ireland come together in partnership to deliver a LEADER programme that will be coherent with, and build on, existing rural development policies and initiatives throughout the country. The Minister looks forward to seeing the new programme being implemented and to ensuring LEADER can continue to deliver real benefits to rural communities throughout Ireland.

Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív

The Minister of State said, "As is the case with the current LEADER programme, the subregional areas for the new LEADER programme will correspond ... [to] county boundaries." The Acting Chair can tell him that the LEADER programme in Cork corresponds to the county boundaries but in three parts, which are contiguous. I will address the matter of Galway in the context of the county boundary and leave aside the islands for a minute, which are a separate issue. Leaving the islands aside, we are saying we will stay within the county boundary but we want two subregional areas because our two subregional areas will have two companies that are not contiguous. They do not physically touch each other on land. The difference, of course, is €3 million. That is a significant difference to the county. I will not get into an argument or be drawn down blind alleys that will go into funny money games in terms of this LEADER programme versus the last. The Minister of State is absolutely right that the last LEADER programme was not great.

The next issue I will address is that of the islands. We all love the islands. Everybody says they love the islands. People are still crying after the loss of the Blasket Islands, Inishark and other islands and their populations. When it comes to the islands, however, we often have the talk, and people will talk the talk but will not walk the walk. The reality is islanders are underwhelmed by all these complicated provisions that mean nothing to development on the ground. They will tell you that the last LEADER programme did not work as the previous ones did. It was not funded as the previous ones were. In one sentence, four things are wrong with the programme; money; headquarters that mean employment on the islands, which is very hard to come by; an island plan for islanders; and the fact this is what the offshore islands want because the islanders know what is good for them for their survival into the future.

Deputy Ossian Smyth

I believe the Deputy has asked about this issue previously, and I will follow up on those questions. I have been told there are now requirements that these subregional groups specifically include actions relating to the islands, that they have a specific budget for the islands, and that they have representation from the islands. I presume that is on foot of the Deputy's requests or demands. I am not sure whether that was present in the last round. His point is that there is only one subregional area for Galway and there should be at least two on the basis they are not contiguous and are separated by Galway City Council. I will bring those comments back to the Minister. Leaving aside the fact the islands do not have a subregional area, the Deputy made the point that there is much more talk than action, that we should do beart de réir ár mbriathair and that talk is cheap. Galway is a very large county at more than 160 km. I come from a county that is 10 sq. km, so I understand where the Deputy is coming from. I will take his comments on this matter back to the Minister for comment.

Hospital Overcrowding

Deputy Marian Harkin

As the Minister of State is probably aware, an unprecedented event took place over the weekend, when 34 consultants from all disciplines at Sligo University Hospital, SUH, all sent emails to the Minister for Health and others highlighting that conditions for patients and staff at SUH are completely unacceptable and verge on the unsafe at times. These emails did not come out of the blue.

The issues and these concerns have been building for years and have culminated in record numbers of people on trolleys - proportionately the worst in the country when you compare them with the number of beds in the corresponding hospitals and the ability of the hospital to absorb the number of people on trolleys.

This is the tip of the iceberg. That is what is visible. Underneath all of that is totally inadequate hospital infrastructure. The hospital has a single CT scanner. When it is out of action when it is being serviced as it needs to be, there is no scanner and that is the most basic requirement for any acute hospital. There is an ageing MRI scanner that is supposed to provide an imaging service for a quarter of a million people in the north west. There are many more shortcomings but I do not have time to go into them. The emails from the consultants spell them out in shocking detail. SUH is losing its staff and is finding it difficult to recruit. There is no doubt it is reaching a tipping point. There needs to be immediate systemic action first of all to refocus funding allocations to Sligo within the Saolta University Healthcare Group to begin to rebalance the imbalance that is there. Second, there is a need to prioritise the provision of fully operational medical equipment and sufficient amounts of it. Third, there is a need to accelerate the 42-bed block in parallel with surgical, maternity, paediatric, emergency department, radiology theatres and ICU.

Deputy Marc MacSharry

The situation at SUH is at breaking point. We have the highest percentage of over-65s in the country, which means we have the greatest demand. We have a bed occupancy rate of about 110%, which is well over the national average of 90% and very dangerously over the acceptable international level of 85%. In other words, people in Sligo are dying because we cannot live up to rates that can be guaranteed to be below 85%. That is a fact.

An unprecedented number of senior consultants serving the catchment area from SUH have shared the despair they are suffering at the hands of our inaction and ambivalence and our inordinate talent for filing reports, doing surveys, researching, agreeing, planning, talking, debating, discussing and finally delivering nothing.

I acknowledge the commitments given to me during the motion of no confidence last July and to Dr. Donal Murray and cardiologists at SUH on improvements the Minister was prepared to provide and the money was provided in the recent budget. I also acknowledge that the 30-plus staff needed to open the already ready-to-go four additional ICU beds at SUH are provided for in this budget but, as Deputy Harkin rightly said, we cannot attract people to Sligo. If you talk to the Irish Hospital Consultants Association, it will tell you things were advertised for six months or a year but nobody responded. We need critical and urgent action this time.

Deputy Mary Butler

I thank Deputies Harkin and MacSharry for raising the issue of staffing and services at SUH. I was sitting here today when Deputy Harkin raised it on Leaders' Questions. SUH is a model 3 hospital with a 24-7 emergency medicine service. It delivers a wide range of local and regional services on an inpatient, day case and outpatient basis, including a range of specialties such as cardiology, medical oncology, critical care, cancer, maternity, paediatrics, radiology, acute medicine and acute surgery, as well as a number of regional specialties provided on an outreach basis to Letterkenny University Hospital.

As the House is aware, the Covid-19 pandemic led to an unprecedented interruption to normal health services both in the community and acute hospitals system across the country. The HSE, hospital groups and individual hospitals continue to plan for the challenges of providing health services while maintaining patient safety in a Covid environment. This includes planning for winter, planning for service resumption and waiting list management as well as the ongoing Covid-19 response.

The HSE winter plan for 2022 to 2023, which was published in October, will support acute and community services this winter to respond to anticipated high levels of emergency attendances and admissions across the acute sector, long waiting times in emergency departments and high occupancy rates across acute hospital settings.

This Government recognises that SUH has a critical role to play in services in the north west. This is reflected in the significant increase in resources allocated to the hospital. In 2022, the budget allocation for the hospital was €160.8 million, up from €130 million in 2018. From the end of 2020 to the middle of 2022, staff had increased more than 12%, including 71 nursing and midwifery staff. In July 2022, 1,885 whole-time equivalent staff were employed by SUH, which is a 12.5% increase on the end of 2020. This included 72 nursing and midwifery whole-time equivalents notwithstanding the issues raised by the Deputies.

This Government also recognises the capacity issues at SUH. As a result of the 34 senior consultants emailing the Minister for Health, the Minister met with consultant doctors from the hospital yesterday evening to hear their concerns. The emergency department is under sustained pressure. Between January and October, there were more than 37,000 attendances, up 4.8% on the same period in 2019 and 12.2% higher than the five-year average. Associated metrics such as waiting times in the emergency department and trolley numbers are also increased on previous years.

Hospital management, in concert with the Saolta University Healthcare Group and the wider HSE, has advanced several capital projects in order to address such capacity issues. These include an emergency department modular unit, additional ICU isolation rooms, a 42-bed ward block extension, a second CT scanner and MRI replacement and a new emergency department surgical block.

In particular, the proposal for a new surgical and emergency department block will involve construction of a new multi-storey extension to the hospital. This facility will provide the consolidation of theatres, provide surgical and maternity wards together with a new emergency department, radiology and integrated paediatric departments. In 2022, funding was allocated to appoint consultants to complete a strategic assessment report-preliminary business case. As this would be a major capital project, this is one of the steps required to progress this project under the public spending code. This Government recognises the valuable work done by the staff at SUH and aims to support the ongoing development of services.

Deputy Marian Harkin

The Minister of State spoke about three issues. She spoke about the winter plan. Seven of the ten actions involve recruiting extra staff for SUH. When I wrote to the HSE asking how many extra staff had been recruited, I received a response not two weeks ago that told me that it was expecting to start recruiting soon. We are in the middle of winter so there is no winter plan here.

Second, the Minister of State tells me that the budget allocation in four years has increased by 25%. I do not know how much the health budget has increased by but I guarantee that it is way more than that so giving us raw figures without looking at how they compare elsewhere is meaningless. I did not have time to check those figures but I will.

Finally, the Minister of State spoke about the new surgical block. To be fair, the Taoiseach said today the issue from hereon is delivery and whether we can accelerate the timeline for construction. The question is, will we?

Deputy Marc MacSharry

We are failing consultants, doctors, nurses and all our medical professionals through not providing the safe environment they require. They are accountable but through our failure, we are leaving them vulnerable in terms of their accountability and endangering patients' lives. That is a statistical fact.

The Saolta University Healthcare Group is too Galway-centric. This is a major issue. Take the example of the four ICU beds. The Minister, the Minister of State, Deputy Feighan, Deputies Harkin and Martin Kenny and myself were trying to get them opened. They will be opened. However, at the very last minute at the pre-budget stage, the Saolta University Healthcare Group with HSE management tried to take two out.

There is a disconnect between what we are looking for, what we are hearing from patients and consultants and what the Minister of State is telling us, what HSE management is doing and where within the Saolta group resources are being allocated. This needs to change.

Minister of State at the Department of Health (Deputy Mary Butler)

I thank both Deputies. I could hear the passion in both their voices as they spoke about this issue, and the genuine concerns they both have.

The HSE winter plan for 2022-23 will support community services this winter to respond to anticipated high levels. Specific initiatives for SUH include three healthcare assistants to support community services on the chronic disease hub, three administrative staff to support referral pathways between SUH and the community, one clinical nurse manager to act as GP liaison, three emergency medicine consultants and one registrar to assist with pre-admission patient flow. In keeping with the principles of Sláintecare, the Government will continue to support the strategic development of SUH.

I am glad that the Minister met with the consultants last night. When 34 consultants put pen to paper and write to the Minister about their genuine concerns, I am glad he acted so quickly and that he met them. As I outlined earlier, there are several capital developments in train at the hospital, but I know that the two Deputies are really concerned about the here and now and the challenges of the winter we are facing into. I was struck by the fact that Deputy MacSharry said that the highest number of over-65s were in there. I also take on board the point he made about the CT scanner, the MRI replacement and the single point of failure when there is only one machine and it does not work.

I will pass on the Deputies comments to the Minister. The Minister was in the House earlier when the Deputy raised this matter. I will certainly raise all of the concerns expressed with him. I thank the Deputies for their time.

Cuireadh an Dáil ar athló ar 11.22 p.m. go dtí 9.12 a.m., Dé Céadaoin, an 23 Samhain 2022.

The Dáil adjourned at 11.22 p.m. until 9.12 a.m. on Wednesday, 23 November 2022.