HSE director: Agency costs mean recruitment ban is not saving money

THE HSE’s head of human resources has finally admitted the controversial recruitment embargo is failing to save money because of the costs involved in filling chronic staffing gaps caused by the policy.

In a presentation to senior management in recent days the health service’s national director of human resources Seán McGrath formally acknowledged the long-denied fact when he said the HSE has “essentially swapped moratorium savings for agency workers”.

In recent months, the Irish Examiner has repeatedly highlighted how the recruitment ban is causing graduates to emigrate after being educated in Ireland and has resulted in a surge in expenditure on short-term agency workers to fill frontline gaps.