The Health Service Executive (HSE) has received approval to commence hiring over 2,200 staff following a period of recruitment freeze. Health Minister Stephen Donnelly confirmed the allocation of funds to recruit an additional 2,969 personnel for the year. Of this number, 2,268 positions will be in the health sector, while 701 will fall under the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration, and Youth. Minister Donnelly stated, “I have approved the allocation of the new development posts relevant to the health budget,” in response to Fine Gael TD David Stanton.
Minister Donnelly outlined that plans to recruit 2,268 additional health staff are underway, enabling the HSE to set recruitment targets for 2024. This will guide local decisions on filling available positions, including hiring new staff, relocating current staff within the health service, and reappointing individuals returning from career breaks. Furthermore, the minister has sanctioned the conversion of 418 agency staff positions to permanent roles as part of the safe staffing initiative. He expressed general agreement with the HSE’s Pay and Numbers Strategy (PNS), though discussions continue regarding the management of unfunded posts created through over-recruitment.
Despite the recruitment freeze, certain positions were exempt, such as hospital consultants, graduate nurses, and doctors in training programs. The freeze faced criticism from various health unions for hampering health service delivery. Approximately 146,429 staff members are employed in the health service, an increase of 26,617 since the beginning of 2020. This includes an additional 8,414 nurses and midwives, 4,067 health and social care professionals, and 2,872 doctors and dentists.
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