The Children’s Ombudsman Niall Muldoon has criticised both the HSE and Tusla for not adequately making plans for disabled children in care.

The current deficit means the health service will likely require another large bailout, despite being given a record budget in 2019.

Health Minister Simon Harris has asked the HSE to conduct an “evidence-gathering” exercise with state-funded organisations providing health and social care to establish a factual position on pay reductions and pay restoration.

IT was hard to tell which infuriated INMO leader Liam Doran the most — the suggestion by Dr Kevin Kelleher, assistant national director of the HSE’s Health Protection unit, that nurses be given chocolates to entice them to take up the flu vaccine or RTÉ’s Sean O’Rourke’s opening question when interviewing him: “Well, Liam, Roses or Milk Tray?”

THE health watchdog HIQA or a similar body should be charged with checking on mental health and suicide prevention services, according to a professor of psychiatry who has researched suicide deaths.