Reform plan delay ‘cost us €400m’

DELAYS in announcing an early retirement and redundancy plan for up to 5,000 HSE workers have cost the taxpayer at €400 million, according to Fine Gael.

While welcoming the voluntary scheme which is expected to reduce the annual wage bill by €200m, the party’s health spokesman, James Reilly, asked why it was announced two years after it was first proposed by the Health Minister.

“The introduction of these schemes was under consideration two years ago but we are only now getting action,” he said. “And €400 million could have been saved in the intervening years.”

“Now we have a panicked Government causing chaos in the health service as workers are left with less than three weeks to decide on their future and that of their families, with Christmas fast approaching.”

Labour’s Health spokes-woman Jan O’Sullivan also said she was concerned with “the short timeframe for the plan to be implemented” with workers being given up to November 20 to make up their mind and the December 30 to leave their job.

She also criticised the “first-come first-served basis of the plan” which, she said “could lead to gaps in the service, with the people we need going and the people we need to go staying”.

Ms O’Sullivan welcomed the announcement in principle but said she wanted more clarity on how it will work. “We have to ensure we do not strip the service of vital people,” she said.

Dr Reilly also warned services should not be affected by the reduction of staff. “There is no clear plan of provision as to how the services would be re-organised to cope with the sudden loss of 5,000 staff including support staff,” he said.

“Extraordinarily, there is no mention of reducing staff numbers within the Minister’s own department.”