THE HSE HAS announced that it will not pay travel and subsistence expenses to staff this month or next, instead withholding the money until next year.
The decision has been condemned by the Minister for Health, James Reilly, who said he did not believe it was “good enough”. Unions have also reacted strongly against the move, saying many community and home help workers are dependent on petrol expenses.
Siptu official Paul Bell said the measure “can only be interpreted as health workers being instructed to bankroll the HSE.”
Minister Reilly said it was a decision that the HSE had taken without his involvement, and he did not approve of the move.
“I expect the HSE to stay within budget, but I expect them to pay their bills,” he told RTÉ Prime Time. “Staying in budget doesn’t mean you don’t pay people the money you owe them.”
The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation said the decision had been taken without any consultation with staff. “It is further confirmation that they [the HSE] simply do not understand the stresses community-based staff are under”, the union said in a statement.
In a statement, the HSE said the decision had been made “pending a resolution of the HSE’s final cash position for 2011″. It said the money would be deferred for around five weeks, or until the beginning of next year. The statement continued:
The HSE notes the comments of the Minister and will continue to engage with the Department of Finance and Department of Health in terms of managing its working capital and cash position to the end of the financial year.
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