Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 23 November 2004
157 Ms McManus asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children the number of senior management posts filled in the Eastern Regional Health Authority, in the three health boards in the Dublin area since 1999, and in each health board area nationally as agreed by her Department. [29656/04]
View answer161 Ms McManus asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children the number and classification of senior management posts filled since March 2004 by the Midland Health Board; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29678/04]
View answer176 Ms McManus asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children the number of senior management posts filled in the Eastern Regional Health Authority, in the three health boards in the Dublin area since 1999, and in each health board area nationally that did not require her approval; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29790/04]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 157, 161 and 176 together.
Responsibility for human resource planning including in relation to senior management posts in each health board region rests with the chief executive officer, CEO, of each health board and the regional chief executive of the Eastern Regional Health Authority. Each CEO, in managing the workforce in his-her own region is responsible for determining the appropriate staffing mix and the precise grades of staff to be employed in line with service plan priorities, subject to overall employment levels remaining within the approved regional employment ceiling.
The Secretary General of my Department wrote to each CEO in March of this year instructing them, inter alia, to ensure that no vacancies at senior management level should be filled on a substantive-permanent basis except in exceptional circumstances where the formal approval of my Department had been secured in advance. A total of 22 such posts have been sanctioned since the issuing of the letter in March 2004 and the details of these posts are outlined in the following table. The posts approved are either key management posts for the delivery of patient services or concern important areas of health service operations. The filling of these posts is considered essential to maintaining the continuity and quality of service provision in the health services in the context of the transition to the new administrative structures.
As my Department does not maintain individual records in respect of the filling of senior management posts other than those directly related to the Secretary General's letter of March 2004, I have asked the CEO of each board and the regional chief executive of the ERHA to respond directly to the Deputy in respect of appointments in the period from 1999 to March 2004.
|
Health Board |
Number of Posts |
Title of post sanctioned |
|
Eastern Regional Health Authority |
1 |
Financial Controller |
|
Mid-Western |
1 |
Research and Development Officer |
|
1 |
General Manager Limerick Primary, Community and Continuing Care |
|
|
Midland |
1 |
Materials Manager |
|
1 |
Superintendent Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages |
|
|
1 |
General Manager Acute Hospital Services |
|
|
1 |
General Manager Community Care |
|
|
North Eastern |
3 |
Regional Risk Advisers |
|
North Western |
1 |
Regional Project Manager, EPR (Acute Services) |
|
South-East |
1 |
Travellers Health Officer |
|
1 |
Regional Births Deaths and Marriages |
|
|
1 |
General Manager Waterford Regional Hospital |
|
|
1 |
Head Office Finance Post |
|
|
1 |
Director of Finance (Temporary post-12 months) |
|
|
Southern |
1 |
Service Manager |
|
3 |
Superintendent Community Welfare Officer |
|
|
1 |
Medical Manpower Manager |
|
|
Western |
1 |
Superintendent Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages |
|
Total |
22 |
158 Ms McManus asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children the role envisaged in the new health service for persons currently employed at the assistant chief executive officer grade in the health boards; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29657/04]
View answerThe interim Health Service Executive together with my Department have been engaged in discussions with IMPACT since early this year regarding the implications of the reform for senior management personnel within the health boards. The interim Health Service Executive has repeatedly stated that all existing senior managers in the health boards will have important roles to play within the Health Service Executive. From 1 January, as part of the transition arrangements, which are designed to protect existing levels of service and reduce staff uncertainty, all existing senior managers in the health boards will continue in their current role. Instead of reporting to a health board chief executive officer, these senior managers will report to the appropriate national director in the HSE corporate headquarters in Naas. A document, which clearly sets out these reporting relationships is currently being finalised by the interim Health Service Executive.
During the course of 2005 the national directors will start the process of implementing the agreed design and this implementation will include ongoing discussion and negotiation with health staff and their representative groups.
159 Ms McManus asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children the undertakings which have been given to the 11 chief executive officers of health boards with regard to their employment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29658/04]
View answerDiscussions are continuing between my Department and the health board chief executive officers concerning personnel issues arising from the dissolution of the health boards from 1 January 2005.
The executive chairman of the interim Health Service Executive has asked the chief executive officers to continue to work within the health system for six months or so in 2005 to address important issues regarding governance arrangements, management of risk and addressing staff uncertainty during the early part of the transition phase. This is a key part of the risk management programme which is being put in place to ensure that services are maintained through the transition to the unitary system.
160 Ms McManus asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children the arrangements which have been made for a voluntary redundancy scheme in relation to the health reform arrangements; and if none is envisaged, the plans in place to redeploy existing health board staff; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29659/04]
View answerThe Government has repeatedly stated there will be no involuntary redundancies as a result of the health reform programme. There are no plans to introduce a voluntary redundancy scheme for any health service employees, and no voluntary redundancy package has been sought from the Department of Finance.
From 1 January 2005 the current health board chief executive officers will cease in their current role, but all other staff will continue to work in their current roles. During the course of 2005 the national directors of the Health Service Executive will work with health staff in their respective divisions to deploy the staff into the newly designed health service. This system of deployment will be the subject of discussions with the relevant health unions.
