New laws needed to speed up staff dismissals, HSE chief executive says

Eva Osborne

The chief executive of the HSE has said new laws are needed to speed up staff dismissals and improve accountability across the public service.

Speaking to the Sunday Independent, Bernard Gloster said current disciplinary processes are too slow, open to legal challenge, and can drag on for years.

He revealed that at least 38 HSE staff have been dismissed since 2020, though nearly half of those decisions were overturned on appeal due to flaws in procedure.

Sinn Féin MEP Lynn Boylan said accountability needs to be balanced with protections.

Speaking on Newstalk, she said: "When a scandal breaks, nobody seems to ever be held to account.

"There's always an inquiry or a review, a 'lessons will be learned', and particularly in the health service, where you see that some of the mistakes are catastrophic.

"So, I do think there has to be greater accountability for everybody in public life, but also to not go too far where it's too easy to fire people."