Enable Ireland: Finances left in ‘critical’ state over HSE cuts

ENABLE Ireland has told its staff it has been left in a “critical” financial situation after the Health Service Executive confirmed it was imposing a funding cut in line with the public sector pay cuts announced in the budget.

Earlier this week, the Government stopped the HSE forcing pay cuts in line with salary cuts in the public sector on its grant-aided agencies saying staff employed by those agencies were not public servants.

Nonetheless the HSE started contacting the agencies by phone to tell them it was still going to cut their funding. Now in a directive issued to staff and seen by staff union IMPACT, Enable Ireland management has informed workers the HSE will cut funding in line with the December budget’s public sector pay cuts.

The directive informs staff that their pay packets for January were compiled before the Government confirmed the public sector pay cuts did not apply to state-funded agencies.

“These developments place Enable Ireland in an invidious and untenable position,” it says.

“Enable Ireland has couriered letters to the Department of Health and Children, the Department of Finance, An Taoiseach and Minister Mary Harney requesting political or financial intervention. The seriousness of Enable Ireland’s position was emphasised.”

It said the HSE and Department of Health developments had made its situation “critical”.

“This will be discussed at an extraordinary meeting of the National Services Forum on February 1 before management make any recommendation to the Enable Ireland board.”

“This indicates very clearly that the minister’s message about the pay-cut instruction having been sent ‘in error’ is entirely at odds with the new reality facing the organisation,” said IMPACT spokesman Niall Shanahan.

“I have been told by one of our members (in a different area) that Brendan Drumm’s office has instructed the local areas to proceed with cuts in funding arising from the budget pay cut to all agencies funded by the HSE. No written confirmation has followed the instruction from Mr Drumm’s office to date. Local offices are giving the instruction to organisations verbally to reduce the pay scales.

“IMPACT members in Enable Ireland, on foot of the apparent ‘reversal’ announced by the Tánaiste earlier this week, have written to management requesting a re-instatement of their previous rates of pay.

“We know that Enable Ireland’s monthly grant in aid has been cut by the HSE quite significantly, and the organisation is facing a very difficult financial situation. However, it is clear the manner in which this has been foisted on Enable Ireland is duplicitous, and the Tánaiste’s comments to the Dáil chamber this week were highly misleading.

“We will continue to work with employers in the sector to ensure as much as possible that employees incomes are protected, that jobs are protected and that the vital services provided by Enable Ireland and other organisations in the community and voluntary sector are maintained.”