Written answers

Thursday, 24 April 2008

Department of Finance

Health Service Staff

5:00 pm

Photo of Róisín ShortallRóisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)
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Question 46: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance the requests he has made to the Health Service Executive in terms of spending for 2008; if he has instructed the HSE to freeze or delay recruitments; if the recent reduction in the HSE payroll has come about as a result of a deliberate policy decision by him with respect to health spending; if he will provide an assessment of the expected future implications of these instructions for HSE employment and front line services for the remainder of 2008; if he will ensure that sufficient funding will be allocated to the HSE to allow the filling of vacant posts, particularly in front line services to patients and clients of the HSE; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15614/08]

Photo of Brian CowenBrian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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The post-Budget Estimates allocation (current and capital expenditure) for the Health Service Executive is over €14.9 billion, a 7% increase on 2007. The numbers employed (wholetime equivalents) in the health service increased last year by almost 4,300 to just over 111,500 at end 2007.

My Department's 2008 sanction to the HSE to spend its post-Budget Estimates allocation for current expenditure allows for the creation and filling of 1050 additional development posts in services for the elderly, palliative care, disability, cancer and population health. This will bring the total numbers employed in the health service to 112, 560 by the end of 2008. It also includes a two year reconfiguration target which requires the HSE to reconfigure the numbers employed towards front-line services within the pillars and from the hospital pillar towards primary, community and continuing care (PCCC) pillar in line with its strategic policy of developing an integrated approach to health care. In this regard, the HSE will be required to redeploy over 2,000 posts to PCCC and over 250 posts from HSE Corporate to front-line services.

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