Tom Hayes (Tipperary South, Fine Gael)
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Question 362: To ask the Minister for Health and Children the length of time the freeze on recruitment in the Health Service Executive will last; and if the operating theatre and six surgical beds closed due to the freeze in Clonmel will be promptly re-opened. [20416/07]

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)
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The HSE National Management Team has developed a financial break-even plan aimed at remaining within its Vote for 2007. The plan includes a pause in recruitment for an initial period of one month beginning on 5 September. The position is due to be reviewed by the HSE on 1 October in the light of the financial situation then pertaining. Other features of this plan include

cancelling all foreign travel for the remainder of the year

cancelling all domestic hotel bookings for the remainder of the year, and

reviewing all non front-line expenditure to ensure that it is authorized at an appropriately senior level.

There are over 120,000 people working in the public health system and the temporary pause in recruitment must be viewed in that context. I share the concern of the HSE to ensure that patient care is not affected during the recruitment suspension. It is the HSE's clear intention that these measures, which involve 200-300 posts, will not impact on 'front line' services and it has made provision for critical or essential vacancies to be filled by re-deployment of existing staff.

Subject to overall parameters set by Government, the Health Service Executive has the responsibility for determining the composition of its staffing complement. In that regard, it is a matter for the Executive to manage and deploy its human resources to best meet the requirements of its Annual Service Plan for the delivery of health and personal social services to the public. The Executive is the appropriate body to consider the matter raised by the Deputy. My Department has requested the Parliamentary Affairs Division of the Executive to arrange to have the matter investigated and to have a reply issued directly to the Deputy.