Health minister: Splitting HSE into regions was not a mistake

As the Cork/Kerry and Dublin/Northwest HSE regions face €37m deficits, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill said 'some regions are managing this'

Health minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill. File picture: PA

The health minister has insisted that splitting the HSE into regions with independent budgets was not a mistake, as concern grows about a €250m budget deficit already this year.

The HSE Southwest region, covering Cork and Kerry, has put in place spending controls, including a pause on hiring non-frontline roles such as clerical staff or management. 

It has been asked by the HSE chief executive to submit a savings plan by this week to address its deficit of €37.7m.

The Dublin and Southeast Region faces a deficit of €37.4m, with similar cutbacks now in place among pressures in other regions also.

The plans again include a cutback on hiring temporary agency staff. This was also a key issue in 2024 when plans were announced to cut agency spending by a third.

'Some regions are managing this'

However, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill defended the HSE when asked if this early pressure indicates it was a mistake to create the regional splits.

“I think that’s going too far, “ she said. “There are some regions that are managing this. We’re seeing different experiences in terms of agency conversion in different regions; they all need this focus.” 

She told the Irish Examiner: “This is the first year where we are devolving funding structure, it’s always going to be a certain amount challenging.” 

This year is the first full year for the HSE to operate in regions, each with its own budget and independence for hiring. 

INMO concerns 

Ms MacNeill was speaking to reporters during the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) annual conference.

Nurses raised fears this recruitment freeze could spill over into their ranks as happened during previous hiring slowdowns.

The union warned it can take 12 months for normal recruitment to resume after a pause.

Focus 'only on non-frontline roles'

The minister insisted the focus is only on non-frontline workers, saying: “I appreciate this was presented in the way there is a threat to recruitment - there very much is not.” 

She called instead for more focus on converting agency nurses and offering them HSE staff roles.

Ms Carroll MacNeill told the conference directly: “As we overspend on agency, we are forgetting we are not filling in a speedy enough way the vacant permanent positions in the healthcare system.

“There is no pause on recruitment for any of those [nursing roles].” 

However, INMO president Caroline Gourley also raised fears about the potential impact of any freeze on nursing and midwifery numbers.

“Staffing and skills are the basic tools to provide patients with a safe level of care,” she said.

“We can’t provide safe care when the first port of call in every health budget overrun is to stop the essential recruitment.” 

Speaking directly to the minister who shared a stage with her, Ms Gourley said: “I know you know it takes a minimum of six months to recruit a nurse or midwife.

“Any delay in the already laboriously slow and bureaucratic process will lead to further inquiries into patient safety issues.”

• Niamh Griffin, Health Correspondent