Ms Linda Kelly:

We do not have a formal communication from the HSE on this. The feedback that members on the ground are getting is that maternity leave cover is not going to be provided going forward, particularly for the second half of this year. That is a huge problem in a workforce that is predominantly female. We know from the figures across the workforce that about 80% of HSE staff are women, so the level of maternity cover is significant. We have not seen draconian measures like that since the crash in 2008 and 2009. It is certainly not where a modern employer would be in respect of not covering maternity leave. We anticipate that the impact of that will significantly grow over the next couple of months. I was only yesterday talking to the vice chairperson of our division, who represents the south east of the country, who noted the number of people who are looking to return from career break and are being refused permission to come back into employment.

These are measures that really have to be questioned. Not only are we talking about an annual budget, ceilings and all of that, but we are also talking about a context in which demand is growing and we know there is a crisis in the healthcare workforce at national, European and international level. The idea that we are going to make some sort of short-term gain by having a recruitment embargo or fixed employment ceiling is incorrect. When it comes in five or ten years' time to a really significantly increased proportion of people over 65, we are not going to have anybody. That is the myopic decision-making that is happening at the moment, which is really problematic.