Over 720 consultant posts vacant in the health service 

It has also emerged that Health Minister Stephen Donnelly's promise to recruit an additional 14,700 staff across the health service this year has been revised downwards to 7,300.

As 630,000 people wait to see a medical consultant, more than 720 key consultant posts remain unfilled on a permanent basis, new figures reveal.

It has also emerged that Health Minister Stephen Donnelly's promise to recruit an additional 14,700 staff in the health service this year has been revised downwards to 7,300.

Sinn Féin's health spokesperson David Cullinane has warned that having 727 unfilled consultant positions at a time when waiting lists are at an all-time high will have significant consequences on patient health.

"There's about 630,000 people waiting to see a consultant on the outpatient waiting list, but what's worse is there's about 190,000 of those waiting over 18 months, which is a huge amount. And there are about 29,000 children waiting over 18 months to see a consultant. That shows that there's a problem, if you don't fill these posts there's a consequence.

Mr Cullinane said the Government must make our healthcare system an attractive place to work if they are to fill vacant positions and this not only involves pay but must also include providing the theatre space, bed capacity and working conditions required.

The latest figures show that of the 3,613 approved consultants positions, just 2,886 are filled on a permanent basis, a further 295 have been filled on a temporary basis and another 77 have been filled with agency staff.

"So for all the big promises that were made in Budget 2021 and all the big numbers, when you look into it, yes, progress was made, yes, some staff were hired, yes, some additional measures were put in place, but a lot of what was promised wasn't delivered," Mr Cullinane said.

The HSE said there has been a "surge" in the number of posts that have been approved this year which has resulted in a higher number of vacancies.

"There is often a significant period of time between approval of a consultant post to an appointee commencing employment," said Leah O'Toole the HSE's assistant national director.

Consultants say the persistent recruitment and retention crisis will continue to impact on achieving health targets unless action is taken to urgently fill the one in five vacant permanent posts and expand consultant numbers further.

Pay discrimination

In its pre-Budget submission, the Irish Hospital Consultants Association has pointed to the ongoing pay discrimination imposed on consultants contracted since 2012 as the root cause for the exodus of doctors and the inability to attract Irish specialists working abroad back home.

Likewise, the IMO has said a new consultant contract that recognises the value of newly qualified hospital consultants is needed to attract staff.

The Department of Health has also confirmed that overall just 7,370 additional full-time staff will be recruited by the end of the year, down from the original recruitment target of an additional 14,567 workers.

A spokesperson said the ability to deliver was "constrained in a number of areas by the need to respond to the major Covid-19 surge which impacted the health system in early 2021, as well as the subsequent significant impacts arising from the cyberattack in mid-May 2021".

However, last week HSE chief executive Paul Reid indicated that he hopes more temporary staff currently working in testing and tracing as well as the Covid vaccination programme will be hired on a permanent basis.

He told the Public Accounts Committee that around 4,500 extra staff have been hired and another 3,000 will be added before the end of this year and.

"On top of that, approximately 3,200 people who will be working on our testing and tracing and vaccination programmes as agency staff. We want to convert those agency staff to full-time employment. We have funding for resourcing," Mr Reid said.