A Donegal TD has called on the Government to make sure that families of doctors and consultants who come to work in Ireland can obtain visas to join them.
Thomas Pringle TD said the situation is preventing some consultants from taking up roles in busy hospitals such as Letterkenny and Limerick.
Addressing the Dáil today, Deputy Pringle said: “I am sure you will agree that migrant doctors, nurses and consultants play a vital role in our hospitals and GP clinics and they are keeping our healthcare system from collapsing completely.
“It is essential then that we are doing everything we can to retain all healthcare workers, especially given the crisis in healthcare that we have been experiencing for a number of years now.
“Despite this, it has come to my attention that there are multiple cases of doctors and consultants who have been unsuccessful in securing visas for partners or children, with many then forced to take the decision to leave Ireland again.
“Not only is it incredibly unfair and cruel to force this decision on people who make an immense contribution to our society, it leaves vital consultant roles vacant in hospitals such as Letterkenny and Limerick at an extremely critical time,” he said.
Deputy Pringle raised the issue during Questions on policy or legislation.
In his response, Minister for Finance Michael McGrath said the issue has come to him at constituency level as well. He said that government is are up on a policy level with the Department of Justice and said he will relay the deputy’s comments to the Minister.
