Results 441-460 of 1,064,246 for in 'Dáil debates' OR (speaker:David Cullinane OR speaker:Fergus O'Dowd OR speaker:Peter Fitzpatrick OR speaker:Mairead Farrell OR speaker:Seán Crowe OR speaker:Ciarán Cannon) in 'Committee meetings'

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.

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

Mairead Farrell: How many would Mr. Gloster say it is?

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

Mairead Farrell: What would Mr. Gloster say it is with regard to nursing?

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

Mairead Farrell: I am referring to that specific date and that overnight issue.

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

Mairead Farrell: The Minister has not been able to respond to it either. We are just hearing this from the unions. That is what they are saying and we are then told there is a dispute about it. If we have a disputed figure-----

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

Mairead Farrell: To be fair, my question is specifically on that because there is a dispute. I would like to get to the bottom of what that figure is. It is a disputed figure, which is fair enough, but we cannot dispute a figure if there is no second alternative figure.

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

Mairead Farrell: That is not the question. It is a figure that has been disputed. What Mr. Gloster is saying is that he does not have the figure to hand.