Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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555. To ask the Minister for Health the consideration which has been given to the effect of the Health Service Executive recruitment embargo on workforce planning for front-line services; if those services will be in a position to replace existing staff if necessary; if they will have the ability to hire required personnel as needed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19556/16]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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An easing of restrictions on the employment of additional staff was announced in Budget 2015. Under this new approach public sector organisations can obtain delegated sanction to recruit within the parameters of their pay budget once they obtain approval for their Pay and Numbers Strategy from their parent Department and from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform.

This change allows for greater autonomy to be delegated to Departments and Agencies to manage their own staffing levels within allocated pay frameworks. It also provides for further recruitment flexibility, for example where it is determined that offering permanent contracts can achieve more economical service delivery than agency usage.

Recent measures taken in relation to service areas in the HSE remaining within budget have been portrayed, incorrectly, as a recruitment freeze. The HSE is currently working with the Department of Health on the finalisation of its 2016 Pay and Numbers Strategy. This has involved the development of detailed workforce plans at hospital and community service level.

These measures do not impact on a hospital’s ability to recruit where funding exists to facilitate that recruitment; for example in the case of funded replacement posts or where additional funding has been allocated for new positions under the HSE service plan. Recruitment can also take place in areas of critical care and emergency services. All posts are being actively monitored at Group level and National level to ensure that clinical risks are appropriately managed.

It is this government’s intention to continue to grow the health budget as the economy improves and to obtain further resources to deliver the level of service that we all want to provide to our patients.