Fórsa has expressed serious concern at reports that the HSE has moved to pause recruitment for non-frontline and non-critical posts in a number of regions, without prior engagement with trade unions.

The union said the move appears to conflict with commitments contained in the 2025 Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) agreement on the HSE’s Pay and Numbers Strategy, along with a subsequent Labour Court recommendation, both of which require meaningful consultation with unions before such measures are introduced. 

Fórsa has consistently argued that efforts to reduce excessive spending on agency staffing and external consultancy costs must be accompanied by increased direct employment within the public health service. The union says a continued overreliance on agency arrangements is costly, unsustainable, and damaging to long-term workforce planning. 

Fórsa’s head of Health & Welfare, Ashley Connolly, said the latest development reflected an ongoing failure by HSE management to properly engage with unions on staffing and service delivery issues. 

“Yet again the HSE has failed to engage with trade unions and is imposing arbitrary measures which will inevitably impact service delivery. 

“We have consistently raised concerns about excessive expenditure on agency staff and private consultants, while directly employed services continue to face staffing pressures and recruitment delays. Restricting recruitment without meaningful consultation is not a sustainable response to the challenges facing the health service,” she said. 

Ashley added that Fórsa, along with other unions on the ICTU-led HSE staff panel, have sought urgent engagement with the HSE to clarify the rationale behind the measures and to ensure that existing agreements are respected. 

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