A recruitment freeze at the Health Service Executive (HSE) is set to end on Monday after nine months, a move likely to benefit Ireland’s healthcare sector.
Confirming the news, HSE CEO Bernard Gloster said around 900 equivalent agency full-time posts will be converted to HSE posts this year, adding that recruitment limits and controls for regions have been set and cannot be breached.
He also pointed out that the ceiling for recruitment is 125,400 whole-time equivalents, excluding 20,000 in disability, which was set at 31 December 2023.
The move came after the government announced last week that the HSE would be given an additional €1.5 billion in funding due to the need for better quality healthcare and the legacy impact of a post-pandemic and heightened inflationary environment.
The freeze on the HSE recruitment, which was introducted in last October, was extended in November to include all categories of staff, with the exception of consultants, doctors in training and 2023 graduate nurses and midwives.