A BRUTAL example of this Government’s incompetence was laid bare yesterday when an early retirement and voluntary redundancy package was formally announced by the Health Service Executive. The intention is to reduce the number of managerial and administrative staff by up to 5,000 this year and to save €200 million in payroll costs next year. Nobody would argue against cutting management numbers at the HSE. It should have been done years ago. Delay, political procrastination and financial waste are the issues.
Almost exactly two years ago Minister for Health Mary Harney announced her intention to cut the number of these employees within the health services by one-fifth – roughly the same number. It was an initiative everyone expected because, when the HSE was established by amalgamating 11 different health boards, nobody lost their jobs.
The result was a grossly over-staffed organisation. But the initiative became bogged down when Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan spoke of extending the redundancy package to other public servants. Trade union opposition caused the entire exercise to be postponed. Now, with the Government’s finances in a terrible state, the issue has resurfaced.
The last major redundancy programme for public servants was brought in during the financial crisis of 1987. Measures were so badly structured on that occasion that public servants who received large sums were subsequently re-employed on contract. Those mistakes should not be repeated. But the nature of the scheme announced yesterday does not offer much comfort. The early retirement provision is open to applicants over the age of 50. Trade union officials argue that if all applications are accepted, management and administrative systems may be seriously damaged.
Having worked on a major redundancy package for more than two years, the HSE should be able to cope with the inevitable disruption. Its earlier arrangements had planned on getting rid of dead wood. Now it will have to accept all applications. As always happens, some incompetent managers will refuse to leave their comfort zones and reforms will be quietly opposed. But change and a slimmed-down administration cannot be postponed any longer.
This early retirement/redundancy package falls outside of the Croke Park deal. It is, however, likely to impact on it. The HSE is a particular case where both employer and unions accept the need for reductions in managerial and administrative staff. After that, traditional attitudes apply. Already, trade unions have warned of industrial action if the work of medical support staff who accept the redundancy package is outsourced. And there have been threats to delay this initiative by challenging the terms being offered. The willingness of trade unions to engage in a fundamental reappraisal of how the public service works, in return for Government commitments under the Croke Park deal, may be severely tested in the coming weeks.