Olivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Question 202: To ask the Minister for Health and Children the numbers employed in the Health Service Executive in September 2009 and September 2010; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2060/11]

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Independent)
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The Government has made clear that a critical part of its strategy to restore the public finances is to achieve sustainability in the cost of delivering public services relative to State revenues. To help achieve this goal, it will be necessary to restructure and reorganise the public service and to reduce public service numbers over the coming years. This requires that the moratorium on recruitment and promotion in the health service will continue to apply until the numbers have fallen to the level set out in the Employment Control Framework 2011-2014 for the health sector. The Framework gives effect to the Government policy on employment in the public sector.

However, the Framework does allow for the filling of certain exempted grades and there are also grades/posts to which special provisions apply. In addition, the Health Service Executive can also make exceptions to the moratorium on recruitment under certain conditions. The numbers employed in the public health service (including the HSE), as at September 2009 and 2010, are as follows: