Sir, – In its decision to cut agency staff, the HSE forgets the advantages that agency staff bring to its service (“HSE plan to cut agency staff spending by €250m may hit services”, News, February 13th).
During the Covid vaccination campaign, for example, an army of agency staff was used in the vaccination hubs.
Because these staff were not direct HSE employees, the HSE was not committed to provide the usual employee benefits such as sick leave, parental leave, pension payments, etc, and the vaccinators were used on a “zero hours” basis in that they could be employed hourly as the need arose without any minimum weekly number of hours.
The savings to the HSE budget were huge compared to what it would have spent if it was committed to pay all the usual employee benefits.
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The employment of agency staff is pragmatic and economical in the right circumstances. We will see what negative unintended consequences in HSE activity will occur because of its rather blunt decision to cut the agency budget so drastically. – Yours, etc,
FINBAR KEARNS,
Piercestown,
Co Wexford.