Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent)
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565. To ask the Minister for Health the number of persons at national director and assistant national director level within the Health Service Executive at 31 December 2013, 31 December 2014 and 25 September 2015, respectively; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34574/15]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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The staff of the health services continue to be its most valuable resource and are central to improvement in patient care, productivity and performance and without them it would not be possible to deliver the wide range of health services provided every day across the country. An effective health service requires managers and the functions performed by personnel at National Director or Assistant National Director have always been essential to the efficient and effective running of the health services.

The Deputy will be aware that following the introduction of the Government moratorium on the recruitment and promotion across the public health sector in March 2009, significant reductions in health sector funding, together with various exit schemes, resulted in a reduction of 15.8% in health service management/administrative staff equating to approximately 2,842 whole-time equivalents. The period following the moratorium also saw extensive reorganisation, restructuring and reform which required a significant managerial input.

Details of the number of National Director and Assistant National Director or equivalent posts as returned through the Health Service Personnel Census at 31 December 2013, and 2014, together with the latest available date are as set out in the following table:

National Director, Assistant National Director & Equivalent Posts as 31 December 2013, 2014 & 31 August 2015