Shortlist for health job to go before Cabinet

About half a dozen senior civil servants are in the running for the post of secretary general of the Department of Health.

Among those tipped for the post are two senior officials of the Department of Finance, Michael Scanlan and Ciarán Connolly. It is understood that one internal candidate from the Department of Health, assistant secretary Paul Barron, was interviewed for the post.

Sources said that two former Department of Health officials, currently working in other Government departments, were also considered.

The position of secretary general became vacant last month following the Government's decision to move the previous holder, Michael Kelly, to the Higher Education Authority in the wake of the Travers report on nursing home charges.

A shortlist of three candidates was scheduled to be presented to Cabinet today by the committee on top-level appointments. However, the meeting was deferred because of the death of the Pope. There was speculation yesterday that Ministers may ratify an appointment in a telephone discussion later in the week.

The appointment of a second key health service administrator is also set to be made within days. The board of the Health Service Executive is expected to announce its new chief executive within the next week.

The post was readvertised in recent months following the decision by Prof Aidan Halligan before Christmas not to take up the position.

Among those mentioned as possible candidates are Dr Gabriel Scally, a public health doctor originally from Northern Ireland, who has considerable experience in health service management in the UK, and Dr Brendan Drumm, professor of paediatrics at UCD.

Meanwhile, the Health Service Executive's first national plan, to be published today, will reveal that 600 jobs are to go through natural wastage. The Tánaiste has ordered that front-line posts cannot be affected.

The Irish Times revealed last month that the Department of Health was in talks with the executive on reducing employment by up to 2,000 to bring it into line with the official Government ceiling on job numbers. The new plan will cap health sector numbers at about 97,225.

Department sources said last night that elimination of 600 administrative and part-time posts would be offset by the recruitment of up to 1,200 additional staff in the mental health and disability sector under a €70 million investment announced in the Budget last December.

The executive's national plan will also reveal that there were 14,300 patients awaiting in- patient treatment in public hospitals at the end of December.

It forecasts that services in 2005 will be maintained at the same level as last year with the exception of accident and emergency, cancer, renal and disability areas, where increases will be recorded.

The plan predicts that there will be 564,000 in-patient discharges from hospital this year and 70,000 elective or non-urgent treatments carried out.