<p>
	The HSE spent over &euro;8m rehiring retired staff in a single year, according to figures released by health officials.</p>
<p>
	The controversial practice, which breaches the HSE&#39;s own recruitment policies, resulted in 514 former staff being rehired in 2013 at a cost of &euro;8.4m to the taxpayer.</p>
<p>
	Despite breaching its own rules, the HSE defended the filling of the positions with former staff, saying this was only done in &quot;exceptional circumstances&quot;.</p>
<p>
	The rehired staff included 266 retired nurses who were pressed back into service at a cost of &euro;3m.</p>
<p>
	In a briefing note for TDs on the D&aacute;il Public Accounts Committee, health officials said it had been necessary to rehire certain categories of staff on a short-term basis due to difficulties finding suitable replacements.</p>
<p>
	It said urgent service needs or recruitment processing requirements meant the staff were required in the short term to support on-going services.</p>
<p>
	These included medical consultants who were asked to stay on after retirement to cover their previous posts.</p>
<p>
	Retired psychiatric nurses and other skilled nursing staff were also rehired &quot;where particular sourcing challenges exist&quot;.</p>
<p>
	Officials said pension abatement rules kicked in for all of the rehired staff, meaning they could not be earning on the double.</p>
<p>
	Among those rehired were 80 medical staff at a cost of &euro;3.2m, 87 support staff at a cost of &euro;878,000 and 23 health and social care workers at a cost of &euro;577,000.</p>
<p>
	Some 30 former managers or administrators were also rehired at a cost of &euro;352,000, while three dental staff were rehired at a cost of &euro;74,000.</p>
<p>
	The rehiring of former staff has been a persistent issue in the HSE for several years and had continued despite instructions being issued to managers in 2010 to cease doing so.</p>
<p>
	<a href="http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/health/hse-spent-over-8m-rehiring-retired-staff-31243247.html">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/health/hse-spent-over-8m-rehiring-retired-staff-31243247.html</a></p>
