Louth Labour TD Ged Nash has said that inadequate staffing levels in the HSE have caused “unacceptable” delays in paying pension increases due to retired health service staff, including workers from Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda.
Deputy Nash says that a number of local retired HSE workers have been in contact with him over a delay in processing pension increases due to them, as well as backpay due since those increases came into force.
The issue relates to two pension increases in particular, both due last year and still unpaid by the HSE.
Deputy Nash explained: “On the back of my discussions with local retired staff affected by this issue, I challenged the Minister for Health and asked him for an explanation for the delay in issuing the payments and for a timeline for the matter to be resolved.”
The Minister for Health passed on Deputy Nash’s query to the HSE, which issued a response to the local TD, explaining that the delay in processing pension increases was “due to the resource constraint within the pension function”.
Deputy Nash said: “The HSE informed me that there has been a high turnover of staff and a vacancy gap in the section processing the payments, for a number of years.
“It is extraordinary that this has been allowed to happen over such an extended period of time and intolerable that retired health workers are not getting the pension payments they deserve simply because of inadequate staffing at the HSE.”
The Louth Labour TD said: “These pension increases were supposed to happen back in February and October of last year, and these retired health workers from our local hospital and elsewhere are still waiting. It is essential that these payments are made now, without further delay.”
Deputy Nash concluded: “I do welcome assurances from the HSE that the backlog in these payments will be cleared by the end of May, this year and that all monies owed will be paid but the fact that these retired health workers have had to wait so long for their rightful pension entitlements, is wholly unacceptable.
“I will continue to monitor the situation and hope the HSE will make good on its commitment to these local retired workers.”
