Rose Conway-Walsh: Denounces HSE Moratorium as Trolley Crisis Worsens
Rose Conway-Walsh criticised the reintroduction of a recruitment moratorium as trolley numbers hit their highest level of the year and called for prioritising frontline staff over managerial hires. She also warned about ATM smash-and-grab attacks in rural communities and urged action from banks and extra Gardaí.
Trolley crisis and recruitment moratorium
Rose Conway-Walsh said there were 631 people on trolleys today and described the government's response - a recruitment moratorium - as "absolutely crazy." She argued the trolley backlog is driven by a lack of frontline staff to open and staff beds and to deliver treatments in A&E.
Staffing shortfalls and hospital examples
She said hospitals are understaffed, with instances of four nurses doing the work of seven, and cited Mayo University Hospital where seven ambulances were lined up because there were not enough staff to complete handovers and admit patients into staffed beds.
Managerial hiring versus frontline hires
Conway-Walsh criticised decisions to employ managerial and administrative staff ahead of nurses, citing figures given by colleagues that 2,603 admin and managerial staff had been employed by the HSE since 2014 while only 54 extra nurses were added. She said the priority must be frontline staff to reduce trolley numbers and ambulance queues.
ATM attacks and rural impact
She raised recent ATM smash-and-grab incidents affecting two small businesses in her community, causing thousands of euros of damage. She warned banks may use attacks as an excuse to remove ATMs from rural areas, forcing people to travel long distances to access cash.
Calls for policing, bank responsibility and joined-up services
Conway-Walsh said extra Gardaí are needed and that banks must act - for example through dye systems in machines - to protect ATMs. She also linked the issue to broader gaps in services, saying Gardaí are often left to pick up the slack for mental health and disability services, and that children and young people with disabilities are being criminalised rather than supported within the health system.
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Conrad Walsh Conrad Walsh, Cahirleach, Today we see the highest trolley figures of this year. We see 631 people on trolleys. And the government response is to reintroduce a moratorium on recruitment. Absolutely crazy. I mean Fianna Fáil did that. That's why we're in the situation that we're in. You know, we have all those trolleys lined up and the reason those trolleys are lined up is because we don't have enough frontline staff. We just don't have enough staff to open the beds, to physically open the beds. We don't have enough staff in A&E to do the treatments. We have hospitals where, you know, four nurses, three nurses are trying to cover the work of seven nurses. In Mayo Hospital, Mayo University Hospital last week, we had seven ambulances lined up. And the reason those ambulances are lined up is because the frontline staff isn't there to be able to do the handover, treat those patients, get them into beds that are fully staffed and look after them in the way that any republic should do. But we're not doing that. So instead of that, we look at we've got to put a moratorium on staff. And it's not about even in this case extra funding. What it's about is the decisions that are being made. The decisions to hire managerial and admin staff over frontline staff. I know it's one of my own, one of the senators here, a couple last year, that gave us the figures, that 2,603 admin and managerial staff had been employed by the HSE since 2014, where there was only 54 extra nurses. It's a crazy, crazy situation. We have enough HSE communications and managerial and admin. We need the frontline staff. That's what's going to reduce our trolley numbers. That's what's going to stop the ambulances lined up outside the hospitals. It's a crazy situation and I think we need another debate in here, particularly on the trolley numbers with the Minister for Health. The other issue I want to raise today is around the ATMs and what's been happening. And that is not confined to the... That is not... I'm sorry, Senator Norris, that is not a laughing... That is not... That is not a laughing matter. It is indeed. And I will tell you why it's not a laughing matter. Get your own digger out. Because it's not confined to the north or to anywhere else. In my own community this morning, two businesses, small community, not many businesses, but two businesses with ADMs woke up to see their premises smashed into. And thousands of euros worth of damage being done. That is to small businesses that are already struggling, struggling to survive because of the punitive rates and charges and everything else that's put upon them. So something has to be done. And what needs to be done is obviously we need extra Gardaí. But we need the banks as well in terms of the ATMs. And what I'm afraid of is that the banks will use this as an excuse to pull the ATMs out of this rural area. And I know, Senator Norris, you wouldn't know what it's like to have to travel 30 or 40 kilometres to get to the nearest ATM. But we know what it's like in rural areas. And that's why something must be done to stop that. And the banks have a responsibility. Whether that be the dye that's used in the cash machines, the extra police that are needed, even connected to the mental health services and the disability services, where the Gardaí are taking up the slack of the health services. We spoke about it last week in terms of children, young people with disabilities, being criminalised and left to the Gardaí to solve, rather than the issues being solved within the health service. I'll finish it with that. Go raibh maith agathe. Thank you, Senator. Thank you, Senator. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
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