MINISTER FOR Health Mary Harney has told the Health Service Executive (HSE) that funding to meet the cost of pay increases for staff in the health sector next year will have to be generated through work practice reforms.
About 110,000 staff in the HSE are set to receive a 3.5 per cent increase in pay next September under the terms of the proposed new national wage agreement.
It is anticipated that this will cost between €100 and €112 million.
However, no additional funding to pay for these salary increases has been included in the exchequer allocation to the HSE for next year.
In a letter to the HSE in recent days, the Department of Health said the Minister had instructed that services were not to be reduced as a way of funding the new pay increases for staff.
It is understood the Minister maintained that the money would have to be generated through work practice reforms.
The HSE is expected to raise the issue with trade union leaders at a meeting today.
It is understood the HSE will propose that to meet the funding shortfall, it could consider reducing the amount paid out in overtime to non-consultant hospital doctors.
The bill for such overtime in hospitals is currently running at about €130 million per year.
The HSE may also suggest examining the levels of on-call staff in the health sector.
It is likely to also propose changes in travel and subsidence arrangements.
Spending on training for health service staff may also be examined under the HSE proposals.
It is expected that at today’s meeting the HSE will ask trade unions for their proposals on how the funding shortfall could be made up.
It is understood that at the meeting the HSE will also advise the union leaders that it is facing a separate, potential financial shortfall of up to €300 million next year if it has to deliver the same level of services.
Overall, the HSE’s budget for 2009 will be €14.7 billion, an increase of €454 million or 3.2 per cent on this year’s allocation.
Some €15 million of this has been ringfenced for the cancer-control programme, as well as €55 million to implement the “fair deal” scheme to pay for long-term care.
There is also €1.7 million for initiatives in relation to suicide prevention and €10 million to fund extra therapists for children with disabilities.
The HSE must provide a service plan to the Minister for approval by early next month, setting out how exactly it will spend the money allocated by the exchequer.
Ms Harney said last week after the budget that the HSE would be “challenged” to meet its commitments in 2009.
