Catherine Fogarty

Castlebar councillor Michael Kilcoyne has placed blame directly on Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill for the current pause in nurse recruitment at Mayo University Hospital. The Independent councillor contends that the Minister underestimated the necessary funding for the annual health budget, leaving up to 90 nursing posts vacant at the facility. This freeze has reportedly led to the withdrawal of job offers both permanent and temporary previously extended to recent graduate nurses. The situation is causing direct strain on staff and patients, coinciding with Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation figures showing 25 patients on trolleys at Mayo University Hospital and 70 at Galway University Hospital #MichaelKilcoyne #Castlebar #RecruitmentPause #MUH #MayoUniversityHospital #SafeCare #UnfilledPosts midwestradio.ie/news/council…

🚨 Leaked HSE report contradicts Cabinet claims on €1B health deficit! Health Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill and Cabinet colleagues have blamed a regional "hiring spree" for spiraling costs. However, an internal HSE oversight report reveals the truth: non-pay overspending is actually 2.4 times higher than staff pay overruns. Out of a €659M deficit recorded through August, €431M comes from non-pay expenses like GP payments, medications, clinical supplies, and IT. Meanwhile, staff pay was over budget by €180M. Despite using the recruitment narrative to strip four health regions of their financial autonomy, the data shows the worst cost control actually sits with Children’s Health Ireland (€50.8M deficit) and non-pay operational costs. For taxpayers, this points to a deeply flawed budgeting system raising serious concerns that staffing levels and frontline patient care are being squeezed to cover miscalculated central costs. #HSE #LeakedReport #BudgetDeficit dailymail.com/news/article-1…

Imagine pouring four years of hard work into earning your degree, signing your employment contract, and quitting your job only to be told days before starting that your new role in the HSE has been abruptly "paused". That is the heartbreaking reality for Mayo healthcare graduates like Lucy Brennan and Mae Hession, who are now forced onto jobseeker’s benefit while frontline vacancies remain unfilled. Following pay budget overspends, the HSE has tightened financial controls across four regions, creating what local representatives call a recruitment freeze in all but name. It’s a frustrating contradiction: as patient waiting times soar and millions continue to be spent on temporary agency staff. The very nurses trained to heal our system are left with no choice but to look at emigrating to Australia or Canada. While health officials insist these controls are essential to restore budgetary discipline and protect patient care, affected workers are left completely in the dark without a clear timeline. Our young healthcare workers stepped up to serve. Isn't it time the country stood by them? #LucyBrennan #MaeHession #Mayo #Embargo @HSELive @roinnslainte #Nurses #AgencyOverSpend google.com/url?sa=t&source=w…

Whistleblowers from across Ireland recently gathered outside Leinster House with the independent group More Than 4 to highlight systemic abuses of power and ongoing retaliations. The collective represents truth-tellers from across the public and private sectors, including the Garda Síochána, Department of Defence, Health Service Executive (HSE), Scouting Ireland, and the charities sector. Despite statutory protections under the Protected Disclosures Act, whistleblowers face severe institutional hostility, procedural delays, and zero prosecutions for retaliatory actions. Research shows protected disclosures take an average of 540 days to process, leaving many stranded in administrative limbo. Real accountability requires true legal enforcement, and we fully support their call for institutional reform #Whistleblowers #MoreThan4 #Accountability #Reform