Health

HSE told it should have acted on hiring freeze ‘much earlier’ one month before pause came into force

Executive met with sharp criticisms over spending at tense meeting with department of public expenditure in August

Last month’s extension of the recruitment freeze by the HSE has been heavily criticised by opposition parties and trade unions. Picture: Eamonn Farrell/Photocall Ireland

Decisions around halting the recruitment of staff within the HSE should have been taken much earlier, officials from the department of public expenditure & reform (Dper) told health officials earlier this year during a tense meeting around spending.

Newly released records from late August show officials from Paschal Donohoe’s department expressing serious concerns over continuous overspends within the HSE, poor budgetary oversight, and the effectiveness of management decisions.

The meeting of the Health Budgetary Oversight ...