Olwyn Enright
Question:61 Ms Enright asked the Minister for Health and Children if his attention has been drawn to the relative disadvantage of health board hospitals to voluntary hospitals in recruiting consultants. [15452/04]
View answerWednesday, 26 May 2004
Questions (52)
Written answers
I presume the Deputy is referring to the fact that the consultant recruitment process tends to take longer for health board hospitals than for voluntary hospitals. This is due in part to the requirement under legislation for health boards to use the Local Appointments Commission in the recruitment process while there is no such requirement for voluntary hospitals.
The enactment of the Public Service Management (Recruitment and Appointments) Bill will, however, speed up the health board recruitment process. The purpose of this Bill is to provide a modern and efficient framework for public service recruitment which will allow for increased flexibility while maintaining the current high standards of probity. The Bill empowers Government Departments and other public service bodies to recruit staff directly as well as through a centralised system. I am confident that this measure, coupled with the impending establishment of the Health Service Executive, will eliminate any perceived disadvantage in this area.