Tanaiste Leo Varadkar has said the Government is “very concerned” over estimates that hospital waiting lists will exceed 100,000 this winter.
But said the wages for healthcare workers in Ireland are competitive with Northern Ireland and other parts of Europe when asked what can be done to attract staff.
He also defended the HSE, who he said has hired up to 8,000 additional staff this year.
Mr Varadkar said Health Minister Stephen Donnelly has reallocated spending to tackle the waiting lists.
Speaking to reporters in Co Leitrim on Friday, he said: “We are very concerned about it.
“I’m a doctor by profession and former Health Minister and waiting lists were too long before the pandemic.
“They are now even longer because we had to shut down large parts of the health service during the pandemic and we now need to catch up.
“One of the things Minister Donnelly has now authorised to do is to take some of the health budget that isn’t spent in other areas this year and now reallocate that towards reducing waiting lists between now and Christmas.
“And what will follow on that is a waiting list taskforce with a much longer multi-annual plan to reduce waiting lists.”
The Fine Gael leader said the money and political will is there but said the health system runs into “real issues” around staff shortages, trained personnel and capacity.
When asked what could be done to attract staff to the health system he said: “Wages are increasing and we do have a public sector agreement around that and if you look at wages for healthcare workers in Ireland, they’re very competitive with those in Northern Ireland or Britain, for example, or other parts of Europe.
“Maybe not so with parts of the Middle East, but certainly the UK or other parts of Europe, so that is part of the solution.
“We’re also going to need to train more, that's the truth of it as well. We’re going to need to train more people in those medical professions.
“That’s all part of the picture but I wouldn’t be too critical or down on the HSE. Hiring an additional seven or 8,000 staff in one year is a lot.
“They got authorisation to hire 14,000 and that’s still there, but hiring an extra 7,000 people is a lot.”
The Fine Gael leader said the Government is “trying to do everything that we can” to reduce waiting lists “because so many people are waiting far too long.”
He added: “Since the pandemic started, we have added nearly 900 beds to our system. “That’s the equivalent of two large hospitals.
“The health service is bigger, it’s got more beds and staff, but we’re going to need to sustain that investment now.”
