Government to re-establish board to oversee HSE

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has claimed the return of the HSE board will ensure a new era of health service accountability — despite opposition warnings that no service “on the planet” could cope with the constant changes to the system.

Mr Varadkar clashed with Fianna Fáil TDs as Cabinet signed off on plans to bring back a “slimmed-down” nine-person HSE board six years after removing a 10-person version of the body.

Under a move put forward by Health Minister Simon Harris yesterday, cabinet agreed to re-establish an independent HSE board as part of new legislation expected to be passed by January.