IMPACT claims HSE job vacancies filled by nepotism

THE trade union IMPACT has expressed serious concern about the manner in which recent vacancies for community welfare officers (CWOs) in Limerick have been filled by the HSE.

It follows revelations in the Irish Examiner that the spouses and children of existing employees in the HSE Mid-West region were recruited to the positions without an open competition being held.

IMPACT yesterday demanded answers from the HSE as to why there appears to have been a departure from its normal recruitment process in how applicants for around a dozen vacancies as temporary CWOs were selected.

The positions, which became available as part of the Back To School Clothing and Footwear Scheme, carry an annual salary of over €29,000.

IMPACT assistant general secretary, Andy Pike, said his members in the HSE were furious at the manner in which the positions were filled. “In polite terms what has happened appears to be blatant nepotism, although it is being described by some HSE staff in far more rigorous terms. There is a suspicion that people were tipped off about the vacancies with a nod and a wink which, if true, is completely unacceptable.”

He expressed concern that the non-transparent approach to the recruitment process was dragging the HSE into disrepute.

“We are trying to ascertain if anyone who got the job is a relative of a person who refused permission to existing staff to take up such a role,” said Mr Pike.

Mr Pike said he was aware of at least nine people who were either existing staff interested in the position or who were on a panel of suitable applicants who had not been interviewed for the temporary CWO jobs. He also complained that a similar situation seemed to have occurred in the HSE South region where four temporary clerical positions were filled by the children of senior HSE officials based in Cork.

One HSE source said the decision to recruit applicants from outside existing staff was known to “only a handful of people” after the vacancies had initially been advertised internally. “People were flabbergasted. It has caused huge anger and annoyance,” remarked the source.

The Irish Examiner has established that a major internal review has been sought by HSE management over its handling of the recruitment of temporary CWOs with one staff member describing the issue as “a bureaucratic nightmare”.

The HSE declined to comment on the matter last night.