HSE spent €15.7m on recruitment firms in 2022
The health service pointed to employment figures which showed the overall HSE workforce increased by around 1,400 between December last year and February this year, from 137,745 to 139,186.
THE HSE spent almost €16m on recruitment firms in 2022. Information obtained under the Freedom of Information Act shows that the health service spent €15.7m on the services of recruitment firms last year, with the vast majority of this money going towards just 30 companies.
The data revealed that CPL Solutions Limited received the most in terms of the HSE’s recruitment spend, bringing in €3.2m in 2022, while Kate Cowhig International took in €2.9m. TTM Healthcare Ltd was paid €1.9m while a further €1.3m went to CPL Healthcare Limited.
A further €5m or so was shared among 26 other firms, while around €1m made up of payments of less than €53,000 was shared among an unknown number of other firms.
Speaking to this newspaper, Labour TD Seán Sherlock called for some accountability on the matter, and asked what kind of impact this spend had on the health workforce in Ireland.
“There is a constant drip feed of data coming out now showing the significant outlay of public monies to firms operating around the health sector but not delivering in the provision of health to citizens,” the Cork TD stated.
“We need to have much more transparency on reasons for engaging these third parties and the outcomes associated with that contract.
“There needs to be far more oversight on the decisions to enter these contracts when we have a retention and recruitment crisis in the health service. We need to know what outcomes came to the workforce outside of the consultancy,” he added.
The HSE was asked to provide figures on how many staff members were recruited as a result of its collaboration with recruitment firms.
The health service pointed to employment figures which showed the overall HSE workforce increased by around 1,400 between December last year and February this year, from 137,745 to 139,186.
The figures also show an increase of around 652 staff members between February and March this year. It is unknown however, how many staff members were hired with the help of recruitment firms.
A spokesperson for the HSE said: “One of the key priorities for the HSE as outlined in the National Service Plan 2023 is the expansion of the workforce by 6,000 people in 2023, while also recruiting approximately 10,500 staff to replace those that will retire or leave during the year.
“The HSE is addressing complex challenges in workforce planning and recruitment while maintaining focus on strengthening the retention of the existing workforce,” the spokesperson added.
“The ultimate aim is to become an ‘employer of choice’ by providing a rewarding and fulfilling workplace for our most valuable asset — our people.
“Since the beginning of 2020 to end March 2023, health service staffing has increased by just over 20,000 (in whole-time equivalent terms).
“Over 6,000 nurses and midwives have joined our workforce since January 2020 and, for a fourth year, the HSE is offering all nurse and midwifery graduates permanent contracts this year.”
Meanwhile, the HSE’s spend on agency staff has almost doubled in recent years, from around €390m in 2020 to €619m last year.
Information obtained under the Freedom of Information Act revealed the health service spent €390m on agency staff in 2020 and a further €461.7m between January and October 2021. A fresh FOI request revealed the HSE spent €619m on agency staff in 2022.
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