Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)

It is probably one of the biggest frustrations I have. I agree with every single word the Cathaoirleach said. I am not going to offer any sort of defence of the performance on agency conversion.

I have met with Anne Marie Hoey, who is the chief people officer in the HSE, and asked exactly the same questions the Cathaoirleach has asked. I have probed into the panels and panel process. I receive the same emails and representations from people who want to work in the health system who have not and who are stuck on panels of different kinds. I have funded positions that have not been filled and there is this agency frustration. What I can say is there is a different approach for 2026 but it remains to be seen on a month-by-month basis what progress is made. There are stronger restrictions on off-framework agency and better digital rostering systems with in-built controls to track and, if necessary, restrict agency use. I want to have a HSE internal staff bank whereby HSE staff - entirely legitimately - pick up or do extra hours but within the HSE, as opposed to through agency with us paying all the additional fees, prices and compliance.

I do not want to be here 12 months from now having the same conversation. What I am trying to do is have a month-by-month engagement with Anne Marie Hoey, chief people officer in the HSE, who is responsible for making sure this agency conversion happens at a different pace. That is not all going to happen within 2026, but in the same way we have managed to get some good traction on those areas of focus this year, I can assure the committee it is an area of real focus of mine.