Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

Let me reply to the question. There will be flexibility to allow for continued development of health care services, particularly primary and community care services, and services for the care of the elderly and people with disabilities. Based on the 2008 employment outturn and the provision for development posts in the 2009 budget, the opening 2009 employment control ceiling for the health sector is 111,800. There will be a general moratorium on recruitment, promotions and acting up appointments to all management and administrative grades and all other grades in the health sector, except hospital consultants, speech and language therapists, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, clinical psychologists, behavioural therapists, counsellors, social workers and emergency medical technicians. Posts in these key grades which become vacant may be filled and a limited number of new posts may be created within the overall numbers ceiling and moratorium policy. There will need to be a reduction in the number of posts in non-priority areas to compensate for the new posts created and we will need redeployment between institutions and the hospital and primary, community and continuing care sectors.

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