I thank Deputy Healy-Rae for raising this issue. Before I start, it is important to acknowledge the incredible work performed by all nurses and the key role they play in delivering essential health services to those most in need across the country, not only during Covid but every day of the week. This Government is committed to supporting and continuing to grow the nursing workforce. We have seen unprecedented growth in the health sector workforce, with record levels of recruitment in the HSE over the past five years. There are over 29,000 more staff working in the health system today than there were at the beginning of 2020, an increase of more than 24%, which includes an additional 10,154 nurses and midwives. According to the most recent OECD report, Ireland has 12.8 practising nurses per 1,000 population, which is the second highest number among the reported EU countries, second only to Finland. In comparison, the UK currently has 8.7 nurses per 1,000 population. It is true that during Covid many retired nurses returned to work in the HSE to support the national response to the pandemic. Under normal circumstances, when a retired public or civil servant returns to work in the public sector, they can only be reimbursed to the value of their final salary, and their pension is abated accordingly during the period of employment. However, to support retired workers to return to work during the Covid emergency, the then Department of Public Expenditure and Reform approved a temporary waiver of pension abatement. In effect, this meant that those retired workers could receive the full benefit of their salary and their pension. This temporary Covid emergency waiver ended on 31 March 2021, when the abatement policy for the health sector returned to normal, in line with all other sectors. It is the case that some retired persons remained in employment beyond the March 2021 date. The Department of Health issued a communication to the HSE on 15 January 2021, informing it that the waiver was to cease on 22 January 2021. The HSE issued a communication to its own management teams. This information was also made available to all staff on the HSE website. Unrelated to the Covid waiver, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform issued further guidance in December 2022 which clarified the rules regarding pension abatement and the methodology for the calculation of same. The HSE, in turn, issued its own memo, 059/2024, in early 2024, outlining the content of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform guidance. As a result of this new guidance, abated employees are currently being assessed by the HSE for compliance. All retired public servants who are re-employed by any public service body are subject to pension abatement rules. The HSE is obliged to apply the regulations that are in place and to calculate and apply abatement as laid down in Department of Public Expenditure and Reform circular 24/2022 as of 1 January 2023. I am aware that many retired nurses choose to work in private agency companies and can do so without any impact on their pension. However, the Department and the HSE are committed to reducing the reliance on the use of agency staff and to filling vacancies through direct employment in the first instance in order to build a sustainable workforce for the future. In fact, reaffirming this commitment was a major ask of all representative bodies during the recent WRC negotiations regarding staff.

Sentiment score: 0.18

I can see the Deputy’s passion, and I do understand. It is important to reiterate our appreciation for the work carried out by all our healthcare workers throughout the pandemic, including those individuals who returned from retirement to help their colleagues and the public when they needed it most. I understand that. The temporary waiver of pension abatement was introduced at a time of great need. The normal rules of pension abatement are that waivers will only be granted in exceptional circumstances, for a limited period of time. In this case, they ceased to operate from March 2021. I know I have already said that to the Deputy. When new circulars are introduced, the HSE national pension payments team is mandated to apply the regulations in force regarding the abatement, specifically the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform circular 24/2022 as of 1 January 2023. The HSE is obliged to calculate and apply abatement as laid down in the circular. It is important to note the HSE is only reviewing compliance from this date on, and not for the duration of the temporary Covid waiver. The Government is committed to supporting the ongoing recruitment and growth of our health service workforce. Reliance on retired workers and exemptions from the principle of pension abatement is not a durable solution or one that should be relied on long term. There has been an unprecedented level of investment by this Government in the health service workforce in recent years with over 29,000 more staff working in our health service today than at the beginning of 2020. Funding provided in 2024 and 2025 will allow the HSE to recruit an additional 7,000 staff in 2025, in addition to replacing department staff. The Government is also committed to enhancing the supply of new graduates by increasing training places. Since 2014, first year nursing places in Irish higher education institutions have grown by 50%. An additional 122 nursing and midwifery places were provided in Northern Ireland in 2023 and a further 78 additional nursing places were provided in 2024. I thank the Deputy for bringing up this issue and for highlighting it and I will go back again to the Department on it.

Sentiment score: 0.19