The recruitment of doctors, nurses and midwives in Ireland is being stalled by the HSE.

The Irish Times report that there are to be no formal job offers or expressions of interest to be made by any hospitals for the foreseeable future. The pause in recruitment includes hiring of consultants and all posts are to be put on hold while a staffing and pay review is undertaken. Unions and opposition politicians have been vocal in their criticism of the move, with SIPTU demanding that the decision is overturned.

SIPTU demands HSE reverses decision to suspend recruitment in health service https://t.co/HPLPPJQbFP pic.twitter.com/Ioil1clwVf

— SIPTUhealth (@siptuhealth) May 19, 2016

Paul Bell, Health organiser with SIPTU stated that the HSE made the decision without any input from the union.

“The impact of this decision cannot be understated. It will lead to a severe reduction in crucial patient services while critical vacancies across the service remain unfilled."

The HSE themselves stated:

"Pending agreement and approval of a workforce plan for each hospital group, the groups have been advised of a requirement to pause on any further additions to payroll."