Watt doubts HSE ability to recruit 16,000 extra staff
Public Accounts Committee to probe €81k salary increase for role
ROBERT Watt, the top civil servant in the Department of Health, has expressed doubts about the HSE’s ability to hire nearly 16,000 extra staff that have been promised this year.
Mr Watt has been appointed interim secretary general in the Department of Health, a job that will command a salary of €292,000 when it is filled permanently — an €81,000 salary increase that is now being probed by the Dáil’s Public Accounts Committee.
As secretary general of the Department of Public Expenditure, Mr Watt wrote to his then counterpart in Health, Colm O’Reardon, on October 27 last regarding the “unprecedented” €22bn budget for the Department in 2021.
On the proposal to hire 16,000 additional staff, he said: “This is an ambitious target and my department has some concerns over its achievability.”
Mr Watt asked for further details on the recruitment strategy including the total cost of the extra staff as well as details on how many staff would be hired each month, their salary grades and to which areas they would be deployed. He also sought a schedule setting out the monthly cost of the proposed recruitment drive.
But the Department of Health told the Sunday Independent that no “formal reply was issued” to DPER or Mr Watt.
Mr Watt’s letter also warned that an increased
budget had been made available for “capacity development” and the implementation of Sláintecare and that the funding was expected to be used in full for those purposes. He warned: “If for any reason this does not turn out to be the case, the corresponding allocations will not necessarily be repeated in 2022.”
Mr Watt’s letter also stated that given the unprecedented level of additional resources provided to deal with Covid-19, there was an “absolute requirement” for “robust oversight” of the funding and how it was spent.
The department said about 15,838 positions over those funded for 2020 would be in place by December 2021.
However, it was unable to say how many have been recruited since the additional recruitment target was announced last autumn. “Our most recent census is for the end of November, and at this point in time the health sector workforce had 125,508 WTE [whole time equivalent], which is an increase of 5,691 WTE since the end of December 2019.
“In addition, 596 people have been recruited as contact tracers. Increased recruitment continues to be a priority,” a spokesperson said.
Meanwhile, the Public Accounts Committee has launched an investigation into the salary increase for the new health secretary general and has sought a number of details from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform.
Fianna Fáil Senator Pat Casey criticised the salary increase at the parliamentary party meeting last week. “I made it quite clear that I just don’t see any justification whatsoever in this 48pc increase and I’ve been led to believe it’s an increase in the health budget,” he said.
“If it is about financial motivation then I believe we are getting the wrong person. We need a person who has a vocation, a vision and a commitment and not looking for a financial reward.”
Public Expenditure Minister Michael McGrath was said to have defended the salary rise as needed in order to attract a wider pool of candidates. Sources said he told the meeting the successful candidate could ultimately choose not to accept the revised salary. The minister did not respond to queries.
The Sunday Independent has learned that the backlash over the salary increase may result in Mr Watt not applying for the role or else not accepting the salary increase if he is the successful candidate.
Mr Watt is continuing to earn €211,000 as interim secretary general as a public recruitment process is under way. He has not firmly indicated whether he will apply for the role.
DPER said Mr McGrath had responsibility for setting the salary and that it had been agreed with the Taoiseach Micheál Martin, Health Minister Stephen Donnelly and Department of the Taoiseach secretary general Martin Fraser.
DPER has confirmed that Mr Watt had “no input” into the sanctioning by the minister of the terms and conditions of the competition , including the €292,000 salary, which will be run by the Top Level Appointments Committee.
A DPER spokesperson noted the role “is a highly complex one with a very challenging brief, particularly so in the midst of a global pandemic”. It also noted the role requires the management of a department of nearly 600 staff, with 19 non-commercial bodies under its aegis, including the HSE which employs over 125,000 and the “significant responsibilities” of the role including managing a budget of €22bn.