Skip to main content
Normal View

Health Services Staff

Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 24 February 2022

Thursday, 24 February 2022

Questions (412)

David Cullinane

Question:

412. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health the funding provided to recruit staff into the HSE in 2021; the target number of additional staff to be recruited in 2021; the actual number of staff recruited in that year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10732/22]

View answer

Written answers

Given the commitment to ensuring sufficient staffing levels to meet both COVID-related and long-term healthcare demand, Budget 2021 provided funding for a significant expansion of the workforce including making permanent funding available for some workers employed in 2020 on a temporary, emergency basis, and also allowing the workforce to grow further in 2021. The Pay and Numbers Strategy for 2021 identified a recruitment target of an additional 14,567 WTE across all staff categories and service areas in 2021.

The National Service Plan was underpinned by the assumption that there would be no greater than Level 3 COVID-19 measures and excluded a National Vaccination Programme rollout. The COVID-19 surge in Q1, coupled with significant demand for testing and tracing and unprecedented levels of COVID-19 related absence rates, significantly impacted the HSE’s ability to recruit in the first quarter. In addition, a National Vaccination Programme was rolled out with the immediate establishment of mass vaccination centres across the country, which required a large amount of external recruitment capacity. Through third party recruitment agencies, the HSE recruited approximately 3,000 people in COVID-19 vaccination centres and for test and trace operations. These recruits are excluded from recruitment targets as they are not directly employed by the HSE.

While the target of 14,567 was pursued strongly by the HSE, it was agreed mid-year that the targets under the Pay and Numbers Strategy for 2021 should be reduced given a shortfall in the beginning months of the year. The target was revised down to an additional 7,370 WTE by the end of 2021.

In 2021, there was an increase of 6,149 WTE. This is the second largest annual increase in staffing since the foundation of the HSE, after 2020. Recruitment targets not achieved in 2021 form part of recruitment targets for 2022 and are included in the upper recruitment target of approximately 10,000 in 2022.

Top
Share