3,500 health-service jobs to go next year

About 3,500 jobs are to be cut from the health service next year.

The Department of Health has outlined the cuts in its new plan for the implementation of the Croke Park deal, which will see staff numbers brought down to 95,500 by the end of 2014.

The report, published on the Department's website, says the number of job cuts may rise to 3,800 if the Health Service decides not to fill positions which remain unfilled at present.

The staff reductions are in addition to almost 5,000 personnel who left the HSE in the run-up to changes to pensions last February.