Martin Wall

Public Policy correspondent of The Irish Times. Formerly correspondent based in Washington and correspondent covering industrial relations in Ireland

[Martin Wall @MartinWallIT]

HSE to pause recruitment in non frontline areas in three parts of country as overspending in first quarter hits €250m. See @IrishTimes for details

HSE chief executive says financial position has significantly worsened and situation is “serious”

[Martin Wall @MartinWallIT]

State fisheries organisation IFI paid about €60,000 to a communications company for training and background preparation before its senior figures faced politicians at the Dáil Public Accounts Committee a fortnight ago.. See @IrishTimes

[Martin Wall @MartinWallIT]

Anne O’Connor appointed as new chief executive of HSE. A former senior HSE official, she is currently managing director of VHI Health and Well Being.

[Martin Wall @MartinWallIT]

St James’s Hospital paid €1.44 million last year to an unlimited company owned by members of staff to provide imaging services. Audit found the vast bulk of this money had been paid without the services being subject to a public procurement process. See @IrishTimes

[Martin Wall @MartinWallIT]

A company paid more than €720,000 twice by the HSE on foot of the same invoice is now in liquidation.The HSE said it was “engaged with the liquidator to recover and resolve this overpayment, among other matters”. See @IrishTimes

[Martin Wall @MartinWallIT]

83 serving or former health staff are acting as directors in 148 external companies providing what are known as insourcing and outsourcing arrangements to reduce waiting lists, new report for Min for Health reveals. See @IrishTimes

[Martin Wall @MartinWallIT]

Close to €100 million has been spent in just over two-and-a-half years on engaging external companies that use HSE-owned facilities and equipment after normal working hours – in many cases employing existing health service staff – to reduce public waiting lists. See @IrishTimes

[Martin Wall @MartinWallIT]

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill to tell Oireachtas committee today hospital activity not keeping pace with investment. One model 4 hospitals only saw a 3% increase
in overall activity from a 36% in workforce and a real expenditure
increase of 42%, Min will say. See @IrishTimes

[Martin Wall @MartinWallIT]

International Monetary Fund found Ireland’s health
system is inefficient compared to other countries: good outcomes but high
costs. IMF estimated up to 15% of expenditure could be saved while
maintaining life expectancy, Minister for Health to tell Dail committee. See @IrishTimes

[Martin Wall @MartinWallIT]

Funding to tackle waiting lists at Beaumont Hospital suspended after consultants told board it had billed National Treatment Purchase Fund for 1400 patients seen in regular public clinics . See @IrishTimes for details

[Martin Wall @MartinWallIT]

National Treatment Purchase Fund to suspend waiting list funding from another public hospital on foot of “potential financial irregularities “. See @IrishTimes

[Martin Wall @MartinWallIT]

Confidential internal CHI report says consultant was seeing twice the number of patients in the weekend clinic than during regular weekday equivalent. He received €35,800 for the weekend work, it added. See details @IrishTimes

[Martin Wall @MartinWallIT]

A consultant at Children’s Health Ireland (CHI), at the centre of a controversy over seeing patients at special weekend clinics for which he was paid extra, did not carry out on call duties for three years due to health issues. See @IrishTimes

[Martin Wall @MartinWallIT]

Nearly 6,400 retired staff who worked at companies in the State-owned CIÉ transport group are to receive their first pension increase in 17 years. Rises of up to 5 per cent form part of a deal drawn up by the CIÉ group and trade unions. See @IrishTimes

[Martin Wall @MartinWallIT]

Teachers at Asti conference in Killarney hold up signs as Minister for Education prepares to address delegates

[Martin Wall @MartinWallIT]

Among proposals in a new plan to be unveiled by Min for Health will be reducing prices paid by the HSE for goods and services and changes to staff work practices “with an increase in evening and weekend activity to deliver more health services over seven days”.

[Martin Wall @MartinWallIT]

The health service will have to make savings of €633 m this year to stay within its authorised annual budget, the Cabinet will be told. Over €380m in new savings/productivity measures are planned for this year while about €250 m from last year will continue. See @IrishTimes

[Martin Wall @MartinWallIT]

Irish aid agency Goal set to let go over 900 staff worldwide with 28 jobs in Ireland at risk as a result of international funding cuts particularly by Trump administration. See @IrishTimes

[Martin Wall @MartinWallIT]

Ukrainian authorities want to buy electronic warfare-jamming equipment, unarmed surveillance drones and armoured personnel carriers with new funding provided by the Irish Government, Ministers have been told. See @IrishTimes

[Martin Wall @MartinWallIT]

Potentially tens of thousands of health staff appointed or promoted since December 2008 are liable to be rostered to work over an extended day/week and managers should prepare to implement these arrangements, the head of the HSE has said. See @IrishTimes