More than 6,500 vacant HSE posts despite funds being available

A HSE ban on recruitment had been in place between October 2023 and July 2024. However since this was lifted, unions have raised concerns that normal recruitment patterns have not resumed. File picture

More than 6,500 HSE jobs are vacant despite funding being available for these roles as it struggles to find the right people, the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) group of healthcare unions warned on Friday. 

In the Midwest region alone, the HSE was only able to fill 9% of maternity leave vacancies across all types of jobs, the unions were told.