Irish Examiner view: Health staff recruitment crisis underlined by HSE's inability to hire temporary agency workers

The HSE is increasingly unable to hire even temporary staff, and agencies say the housing shortage is a key reason for this lack of staff

The 'Irish Examiner' reported the HSE is sometimes unable to fill vacancies even with agency staff, because agencies too are struggling to recruit health workers. Stock picture: PA

Our hard-pressed health service is not short of challenges, with new issues materialising on a regular basis. Now a whole new problem in staffing has emerged. 

As revealed here this week by Health Correspondent Niamh Griffin, worker shortages are now so acute that the HSE has warned that it is sometimes unable to fill vacancies even with agency staff, because agencies are themselves struggling to recruit health workers.

A familiar problem is contributing to these shortages — agencies are reporting that while there are general shortages of workers on a global scale, one specific issue in Ireland is the shortage of accommodation.  

The housing crisis has affected almost every part of Irish life, and now it appears that a general lack of accommodation for health workers is having a direct impact on the supply line of staff. 

This impact can be clearly seen in the numbers involved. 

As reported here, in 2021, disability services spent €40m on agency staff, but last year that figure reached €77.9m, and by May this year, €37.2m had already been spent. Similar increases can be seen in other areas of the health service — the mental health division spent €71.5m on temporary workers four years ago, and in 2024, that figure was €106.3m.

The net result is that some of the most vulnerable people in our society are being cared for by agency staff, which is far from ideal. The British Medical Journal, for instance, reported some years ago on the link between heavy use of agency staff and worse experiences for patients and staff alike.

The Government must address this issue by revisiting its recruitment strategy, one which has been much criticised by health unions.

It must also rein in expenditure in this area, described accurately by an opposition TD as “runaway agency spending”. This is particularly necessary in the context of the unfinished Children’s Hospital and its associated costs.

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Irish passports in demand in the US

A surge in the number of US applicants for Irish passports earlier this year was linked to the return of Donald Trump to the White House.

This yielded a new entry for the dictionary — Trumpugees — as well as a couple of celebrity applicants such as Rosie O’Donnell.

Mayor TD Paul Lawless caused a stir when he called for a 'hierarchy' of passport processing, with Irish residents given preference over American citizens. 

Those new applicants benefited from improved efficiency in the Passport Office’s operation, which has reduced the turnaround time for most adult online renewal applications to two working days. This is a standard of service which other State organisations and bodies would do well to emulate.

However, Aontú TD Paul Lawless has called for a “hierarchy” of passport processing, telling this newspaper: “I’m aware of some cases where American citizens are applying for passports because they just want to frame it, or to be able to say that they have an Irish passport.

These individuals should be put to the bottom of the waiting list, especially at times where Irish families are struggling to get passports. 

This is a delicate point: Passports cannot be issued on the proviso that they are used in a certain way or at particular times. It is difficult to see how the holder of an Irish passport in America could be compelled to use it, or whether such conditions could be attached to its issuance.

However, we are right to focus on any action, or inaction, which might have the potential to lower the standing of our passport, which has an international currency many nations envy.

An Irish passport is an expression of our specific sovereignty, which is important, but it also identifies the bearer as a citizen of a country which is independent in its outlook, non-colonial in its international relations, and supportive of those in need.

Many of those seeking Irish passports want to be seen as sharing those values, which makes it all the more important to protect our passport’s reputation.

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Taylor Swift album ...Ready for it?

Music fans all over Ireland are counting down the hours to the Oasis concerts this weekend, pulling old parkas and bucket hats from the wardrobe, and preparing themselves for the warm glow of nostalgia which will start when the Manchester band recreate the ’90s in Croke Park.

It seems like only yesterday we were dealing with the angst of Ticketmaster interactions and soaring hotel prices for an entirely different musical act — when Taylor Swift sold out the Aviva Stadium last summer. 

Taylor Swift on stage during her three sold-out dates at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin on the Eras Tour in June of last year. Liam McBurney/PA

The US star shifted approximately 150,000 tickets for those three concerts in Dublin as part of her Eras Tour, which ran for almost two full years and generated approximately $1bn (€856.7m) in revenue.

Yesterday, we learned that Swift is to release a new album. 

The news came following some mysterious online hints which her fans quickly seized upon, and frenzied speculation hardened into confirmation when the singer announced the news in one of the most 21st-century publicity strategies imaginable — she displayed a blurred copy of the album cover in a social media clip promoting her boyfriend Travis Kelce’s podcast, New Heights.

The new release will be Swift’s 12th studio album and is entitled The Life of a Showgirl, and eagerly-anticipated is an understatement. Last year, her 11th album, The Tortured Poets Department, broke the Spotify record for being the most-streamed album in a day. The new album may challenge for that title.

Further details will emerge tomorrow, and expect speculation about a new tour to begin at the same time. Hotel room prices are sure to spike accordingly.