Harney warns of 6,000 job losses in HSE over 3 years
Labour health spokeswoman Jan O’Sullivan asked if the job cuts would be achieved through voluntary redundancies.
Ms Harney, who was appearing before the Joint Committee on Health and Children, said she did not want to say anything that might impact on the public sector talks.
Ms Harney also told the Oireachtas committee during their health estimates meeting that a rush of applicants for early retirement in the HSE had pushed up its costs, with an additional €73m now needed to address a deficit.
She said the surge in retirements followed the warning by the Minister for Finance that he could not guarantee that lump sums would not be taxed next year.
The minister pointed out that pension lump sums paid out to just over 2,000 staff during the first nine months of this year cost €100m.
Of the 2,143 who had left, 45 were doctors and dentists; 722 were nurses, 141 were managers and administrators; 110 were social care professionals; 431 were involved in patient/client care; 498 were described as others and 196 were support staff.
Ms Harney said the recruitment moratorium did not apply to those with special expertise but administration staff would not be replaced.
The minister also said that €35m of the €55m provided under Fair Deal, the nursing home support scheme, would be spent this year.
She also said that the payment would apply from the date of application and pointed out that she intended making a further €140m available for the scheme next year.
Ms O’Sullivan said she welcomed the minister’s clarification on Fair Deal.
“I was told that people going into a nursing home for the first time would only qualify from the date on which their application was decided. Some colleagues in other parts of the country had similar responses,” she said.
Ms Harney also told the committee that additional funding of €55m was being sought to meet the costs associated with the HSE’s swine flu vaccination campaign.
She said the VHI had agreed to advance €50m to the HSE as part payment for the use of private and semi-private beds in public hospitals by its members last year.
Ms Harney pointed out that the VHI owed 90% of the €167m in unpaid charges to the health authority and would be billed for the balance in due course.
The minister said hospitals would be able to bill insurers directly next year without having to wait for doctors to sign off on patients.
The minister said it was anticipated there would be a €120m shortfall in health contribution receipts and an €18m drop in pension levy receipts this year because of the downturn in the economy.
