Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 20 March 2024
1536. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Health the impact of the recruitment ban on mental health services, especially what services have been prioritised and which have been closed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13257/24]
View answerIn November 2023 the HSE CEO announced a pause on all recruitment, with the exception of Consultants, Graduate Nurses and Doctors in formal training programmes. This recruitment pause put in place was part of a suite of control measures, including an instruction to reduce expenditure on agency staff and management consultants across the HSE. The HSE was funded to recruit just over an additional 6,000 staff in 2023, however 8,239 staff were hired.
Funding for an additional 2,268 staff has been secured by the Minister for Health for 2024, which is outlined in the HSE National Service Plan, approved and published on 14 February 2024. This includes the mental health posts which Budget 2024 and the revised estimates process have provided for. The Department of Health is currently finalising proposals in relation to the €10m secured for mental health services in the revised estimates process.
Finalisation of the Pay and Numbers Strategy will enable the HSE to set out its recruitment targets in each area for 2024 and will inform decisions at local level on the filling of available posts.
As this question also relates to service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.
