Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I assure the Senator that it absolutely is being looked at and will be looked at. This is relevant not only at hospital level but at hospital group level as well. We have seen what happened when recruitment campaigns were run for managers. In some hospitals people did not apply. I want to look at international recruitment as well. We have already seen a successful international recruitment campaign for the two new deputy director generals of the HSE. It is a question of bringing in outside experience of what works. It is not all stick. There has to be a carrot too.

I also want to look at how we support people in managerial roles. Senator Burke made a point earlier about training. The HSE has done a number of things recently to help. We simply appoint the hospital manager and then say he is on his own and send him off to it. We must ensure people have skill sets and feel part of a support network in terms of having advice. They need to be able to learn from the best experiences in hospitals that are going well. We will absolutely look further at that.