Results 421-440 of 1,052,433 for in 'Dáil debates' OR in 'Committee meetings' (speaker:Catherine Byrne OR speaker:Catherine Byrne7 OR speaker:Paschal Donohoe OR speaker:Ruairi Ó Murchú OR speaker:Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire OR speaker:Mairead Farrell)

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2023: Health Service Executive (24 Oct 2024)

Mairead Farrell: Does Mr. Gloster think it could have an impact on this year?

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2023: Health Service Executive (24 Oct 2024)

Mairead Farrell: Before quarter 3 of last year. When does Mr. Gloster expect it to be at 2019 levels or does he not see that at all?

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2023: Health Service Executive (24 Oct 2024)

Mairead Farrell: For some time. I can see from the spend on the management and administration that the HSE has gone from €29 million to €86 million in those areas. One of the frustrations for people - and it is not always a frustration that is based on facts, it can be based on experience and we have heard quite powerfully from an Teachta Cannon his own experience of getting the piece of paper...

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2023: Health Service Executive (24 Oct 2024)

Mairead Farrell: Mr. Gloster stated that he had a staff of approximately 166,000. There is considerable frustration about agency spend in general, particularly given that there are many people who want to get good jobs in the HSE. This expenditure on agency and management and administration basically represents a trebling of the previous amount. Why has it increased to this level in such a short period?

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2023: Health Service Executive (24 Oct 2024)

Mairead Farrell: But this is €86 million.

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2023: Health Service Executive (24 Oct 2024)

Mairead Farrell: Covid was an exceptional time,-----

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2023: Health Service Executive (24 Oct 2024)

Mairead Farrell: -----but we are discussing a large amount of spending. I understand that the HSE has an aim, but it does not seem that the aim and what the HSE is doing correlate at all. The Minister created a productivity and savings task force, which set a target of reduced spending. Who sits on that task force?

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2023: Health Service Executive (24 Oct 2024)

Mairead Farrell: For me, the main question is who sits on that task force. At yesterday’s health committee meeting, Fórsa stated that there was also a representative of the consultancy firms sitting on it. Is that correct?

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2023: Health Service Executive (24 Oct 2024)

Mairead Farrell: Does that not beggar belief? Would the consultancy firm in question – I do not need to know which one it is – have benefited from agency spend in terms of management fees?

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2023: Health Service Executive (24 Oct 2024)

Mairead Farrell: But this is the particular issue I-----

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2023: Health Service Executive (24 Oct 2024)

Mairead Farrell: I understand having external assistance.

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2023: Health Service Executive (24 Oct 2024)

Mairead Farrell: We mentioned an external element while discussing procurement issues, but in most people’s heads, “external” means “independent”, in that there would be an independent external body examining matters. This raises a concern about-----

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2023: Health Service Executive (24 Oct 2024)

Mairead Farrell: I am not interested in those specifics.

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2023: Health Service Executive (24 Oct 2024)

Mairead Farrell: I understand that is the concept-----

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2023: Health Service Executive (24 Oct 2024)

Mairead Farrell: Yes, but we are also seeing an increase in agency spend.

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2023: Health Service Executive (24 Oct 2024)

Mairead Farrell: The witnesses can appreciate that there would be a query when there is an increase in the spend. I take Mr. Gloster’s point about the 500 he says will change over from being agency staff. What professions are we talking about?

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2023: Health Service Executive (24 Oct 2024)

Mairead Farrell: I welcome more people being able to get jobs in the HSE. I did my leaving certificate in 2008 and most of my friends who studied health went abroad. They are coming back but find it impossible to get full-time permanent jobs. This has a major impact on being able to get a mortgage, move out of the family home, etc. The embargo impacted on them further. Regarding private consultancy...

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2023: Health Service Executive (24 Oct 2024)

Mairead Farrell: When the embargo happened, I was contacted not by a lot of people, given that not that many would contact me directly, but by a number of people, in particular young women who had worked in the healthcare profession and hoped to come back. Either they were in Britain and they were trying to come back, or they were living here and not on a full-time contract and were maybe working one or two...

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2023: Health Service Executive (24 Oct 2024)

Mairead Farrell: Mr. Gloster knows there is a dispute about whether it was 2,000 posts that were cancelled overnight from 31 December to-----

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2023: Health Service Executive (24 Oct 2024)

Mairead Farrell: How many would Mr. Gloster say it is? There is a dispute on that.