Numbers working in health service at 2008 levels, says Kenny

There are as many people working in the health service now as there were in 2008, the Taoiseach has said. Enda Kenny said 500 people were recruited last month alone – the majority of them nurses and healthcare professionals, along with some managerial and administrative staff.

In end-of-year interviews with the media, Mr Kenny said the number of people employed in frontline public services has reached levels not seen since before the economic crash in 2008.

There had been a significant increase in Budget 2017 directed towards recruiting in health and education, as well as in the Garda Síochána, he said.

The Cabinet had approved new regulations before Christmas that would allow senior appointments in the Garda to be made by the Policing Authority rather than by politicians from January 1st 2017, he added.

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“We set up the second Special Criminal Court and the Legal Services Regulatory Authority. Obviously 1,200 gardaí have been recruited since we reopened the training college in Templemore. And after consultations with the Garda Commissioner, the numbers there have expanded from 600 in an intake, to 800 in an intake,” Mr Kenny said.

Wealth of experience

“And I think it’s fair to say that on the few occasions I was down there, it’s perfectly obvious that the kind of recruit going into the Garda now is different than used to apply years ago. Many of them have had experience of life, have left other jobs, are married with families and bring a wealth of experience to the job that they’re taking on,” he said.

Mr Kenny claimed an additional 2,400 teachers will be hired during the lifetime of this Government. He also pointed to Cabinet approval for the addition of 115 special needs assistants in January.

“You really don’t know the number of SNAs that you’re going to require for the year ahead until June, until the figures come in as to the children who will be attending school,” he said.

On the issue of the National Maternity Hospital’s transfer from its city centre location to St Vincent’s Hospital in Donnybrook, he said it had been an achievement to reach agreement after many months of disagreement between the two hospital groups involved.

“I was glad we were able to get approval of the agreement from the entities involved in regard to the National Maternity Hospital moving out from Holles Street to St Vincent’s. This will be a world-class facility in the next three years, capable of dealing with 10,000 births per year.

“It’s going to be a wonderful addition for the mothers and mothers to be of the country and for the children who will be born there.”

He said work on the National Children’s Hospital continued to progress. He also pointed to funding having been allocated to set up a new national forensic mental health facility on the site of St Ita’s Psychiatric Hospital in Portrane, Co Dublin.