The government has pledged an additional €1.5 billion in health funding for this year and plans to lay out an extra €1.2 billion next year, ensuring current service levels are maintained. As declared by high-ranking health officials on Tuesday, this financial measure could eliminate the need for an extra budget estimate for the health service within this year.
The Department of Health aims to curb expenses by approximately €400 million this year. According to insiders, the government’s new plan will finance the hefty influx of personnel that was authorised by the Health Service Executive past year without formal approval.
Tuesday’s decision is expected to relieve the controversial hiring freeze that has been in effect within the HSE since the tail end of 2023. However, the Department of Health stressed that the HSE has pledged to enforce stringent regulation on future recruitments.
Esteemed Health Minister, Stephen Donnelly informed the Dáil in May that a historic peak of 6,000 funded positions were initiated in the last year, yet the HSE had admitted over 8,000 individuals, consequently leading to over 2,000 posts without allocated funding.
The extra €1.5 billion granted by the government this year will directly fund the core functioning of the health service and will be a continual allocation.
This added sum endorses, to a degree, the HSE’s case that it was underfunded in October’s budget. For the 2024 budget, the health service received a €22.5 billion fund. Yet, both Health Minister Donnelly and HSE CEO Bernard Gloster maintained this sum to be inadequate.
The budget allotted to the HSE for that year was speculated to lead to a sizeable budget overrun this year. Last week, it was unveiled that the health service has already overspent its six-month budget by roughly €1.1 billion in the initial half of 2024.
Mr Donnelly expressed on Tuesday that the health service is witnessing a surge in demand and handling an increased number of patients. Significant strides are being achieved in addressing the issue of overcrowded hospitals. Despite a ten per cent rise in emergency department visits, overcrowding has seen a drop of 14 per cent this year alone.
Mr Donnelly stressed his commitment to continually advocate for more funding for the health service, but also highlighted the necessity to maximise current resources and investments. His aim was to facilitate a greater number of patient services and a potential for service extension. Stricter productivity, performance management, and responsibility have been emphasised. The HSE has been indicated by Mr Donnelly to show more improvement in these areas.