Health

Coalition leaders to intervene in ‘standoff’ between HSE and department

HSE will not agree to make appointments to many replacement positions until Minister confirms total figure allowed on payroll

The standoff between the HSE and Department of Health centres on what should happen to more than 2,000 posts either filled or committed to last year by the HSE but for which there was no funding. Photograph: iStock

Martin Wall
Mon May 6 2024 - 06:00

The Taoiseach, Tánaiste and Green Party leader are expected to become involved in moves to resolve a “standoff” between the HSE and the Department of Health which has led to a pause in significant levels of recruitment this year.

The issue centres on what should happen to more than 2,000 posts either filled or committed to last year by the HSE but for which there was no funding.

Health service unions argued last week that the delay in finalising a recruitment strategy was disrupting services. Sinn Féin health spokesman David Cullinane told the Dáil that it meant roles in radiology and mental healthcare could not be filled, while paramedics and pharmacists seeking to work in the health service could not be taken on.

The Coalition leaders are expected to look at options for dealing with these unfunded positions to which staff have been appointed. Some sources suggest the Government could retrospectively provide official funding for these posts; continue a freeze on recruitment until the number of new positions authorised catches up with the level of unfunded posts; or that a middle-ground position could be found allowing some recruitment while the backlog is addressed on a phased basis.

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Over recent months, with some exceptions, the HSE has had a policy of not appointing staff to replacement positions until Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly formally approves the total number and type of personnel permitted to be employed for the year as well as the associated pay budget. This is technically known as the “pay and numbers strategy”.

This has not yet been authorised, with one senior figure describing the situation this week as a “standoff” between the Department of Health and the HSE. Another said the issue was “stuck”.

The move by the HSE not to fill many replacement posts until the authorisation of the pay and numbers strategy is behind what is referred to as the current health service recruitment embargo. There is expected to be strong criticism of the situation this week at the annual conference of the Irish Nurses and Midwives’ Organisation.

Mr Donnelly said in the Dáil last week that the current recruitment embargo was a “coarse measure” but was needed. “We do not want it to be in place and I am working with the Government to resolve it as soon as I can.”

The HSE has been advised that options for dealing with the unfunded additional posts from last year had been be given to the Coalition party leaders for consideration.

Mr Donnelly has been critical of the HSE over the scale of recruitment last year. However, the HSE for its part is believed to view the criticism as unfair and argues that the Department of Health provided mixed messages last year about the level of recruitment that should be carried out.

The Minister said “we had a deeply frustrating situation where the HSE had hired thousands of people”.

“The central controls within the HSE failed. The HSE, as soon as it saw it was coming anywhere near its funded target for the year, should have identified that. Had it done that, no such measure (the current recruitment embargo) would have been required.”

Martin Wall

Martin Wall

Martin Wall is the former Washington Correspondent of The Irish Times. He was previously industry correspondent

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