Minister for Health Mary Harney has said it is too early to speculate on job cuts in the Health Service Executive (HSE) but insisted any redundancies would be voluntary if they did come about.
Ms Harney said no decision had been taken in relation to redundancies among the ranks of administration and management in the HSE.
She was responding to this morning's report in The Irish Timesthat the HSE has proposed to the Government that 200 senior managerial and 800 lower level clerical and administrative posts should go as part of a new voluntary early retirement scheme. It would need funding of about €30 million to finance the proposed redundancy programme.
But, speaking, after a meeting with nursing unions on a reduction in working hours, Ms Harney said the HSE had proposals but added: “It is far too early to speculate about what might happen, what the costs might be on a once-off basis and what the ongoing savings might be if we were to reduce the cost of administration and management and divert the resources to clinic sources.”
Asked if she supported the HSE plan she said: “We said all along since the HSE was established that I strongly support the appropriate staffing level in every area”. She also said that any redundancies would be voluntary if that arose.
"If there are staff that are superflous to requirements in one area then they should be redeployed to another area and if that's not appropriate then at that point we will look at the possibility of a voluntary redundancy programme, but only at that point," the Minister said.
Any job cuts would have to get approval from both the HSE board and at the Cabinet table, Ms Harney added.
The HSE plan was criticised by one of the main trade unions representing workers in the sector this morning.
Impact, which represents 28,000 health professionals and therapists, social care workers, administrative and managerial staff, said it had not had discussions with the HSE about its proposals.
Impact's national secretary, Kevin Callinan said the HSE was going about the process without proper consultation.
"There's been absolutely no discussion with us in relation to the plan despite there being an agreement with the HSE to consult with us on proposals such as this. It is peculiar that this has been identified as a major issue when clearly the HSE is grappling with much larger problems at present," Mr Callinan said.
"From our point of view we're concerned about the idea of cutting junior clerical jobs which is at odds with all of the messages that are coming through to us on a daily basis from doctors, nurses and other health professionals who say that they need more clerical support so that they can be free to concentrate on the utilisation of core skills," he added.
Informed sources said the HSE proposals would see staff under the age of 50 who left as part of the early retirement programme receiving six weeks' pay for every year of service subject to receiving a maximum of two years' salary.
Staff at grade eight level are paid up to €83,000 per year.
Sources said the proposed redundancy payment levels were in keeping with previous arrangements in the public service sanctioned by the Department of Finance.
However, it is understood that in recent weeks the Department of Health has signalled to the HSE that it has problems with the concept of a redundancy scheme for lower level staff.
Instead it is believed to have argued that such personnel should be redeployed elsewhere in the health service if their current posts are surplus to requirements.
In its proposals the HSE has suggested the early retirement scheme could operate in two waves.
Initially the programme would target 200 senior posts at grade eight or above. The second wave would involve the 800 positions at grades three to seven.
The HSE would seek to identify roles which could be discontinued, amalgamated or reorganised. Staff in posts affected following this review would be offered a choice of a transfer to another location or to another post at a similar level or to take the early retirement package.
The Department of Health will make no final decision on any redundancy programme until the outcome of an assessment of the HSE's structures being carried out by consultants McKinsey is completed and studied by the Government.
The Labour Party said today that a voluntary early retirement, redundancy and redeployment scheme is needed in the HSE, but it must be part of a coherent and more fundamental reform.
"A carefully designed and properly negotiated reform package is necessary to make the HSE function in a coherent fashion. A rushed or botched package could make the situation even worse," said the party's spokeswoman on health Jan O'Sullivan.