High performance sports sectors are now a bigger priority than healthcare
Wednesday April 3, 2019Nursing Homes Ireland today expressed its utter dismay by the failure of Government to address the crisis in recruitment of Healthcare Assistants in the Health service. Today’s announcement by Minister Business, Enterprise and Innovation to make changes to the work permit system for other sectors ignores the labour shortages in the health service.
Nursing Homes Ireland CEO Tadhg Daly stated “the Minister for Health needs to explain why yet again healthcare workers are not a priority in the work permit system given the recruitment crisis in public, private and voluntary healthcare”.
Tadhg Daly, Chief Executive of Nursing Homes Ireland, said the Department of Health was failing in its duty to its stakeholders to persuade the Department of Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation re healthcare assistants and other necessary grades in the health system.
“Government are now saying that gyms and high performance sports sectors are now a bigger priority than healthcare,” Mr Daly said. “It is absurd than healthcare workers are not a priority in the system. The Minister for Health keeps ordering more and more reviews of the needs of healthcare employers for healthcare assistants but is then unable to get the results of the reviews over the line with other Departments. The Minister for Health needs to explain why he thinks the need for health sector workers needs another review given the level of crisis in recruitment in the public, private and voluntary healthcare systems.”