Sinn Féin has renewed calls on the Government to significantly boost the health budget for next year.
Amid speculation that the party could table a no confidence motion in Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly, Sinn Féin was today putting the focus on the Government party leaders.
The party's spokesperson on health, David Cullinane, said Leo Varadkar, Micheál Martin and Eamon Ryan made a "deliberate and disastrous decision to underfund" the health service for next year.
"This will have catastrophic implications for patients and those who work on the front line. The onus is on these three leaders to row back from their reckless decision and to properly fund our health services," he said.
Speaking this afternoon, the Tánaiste Micheál Martin said a "deep dive" of health spending is needed, to fully assess the manner in which budgetary allocations are being used.
The HSE issued a memo to senior managers last week outlining an extension of the recruitment freeze.
In the memo, seen by RTÉ News, HSE Chief Executive Bernard Gloster said that the organisation had to control costs as its funding, while quite high, is "not adequate for all current costs".
There will be a freeze on additional agency staffing and non-consultant hospital doctors (formerly known as junior doctors).
Other impacted areas include patient and client care services, which includes healthcare assistants and home help.
Mr Martin said the Government would "work through funding in health" but he pointed out that "the scale of allocation in the last number of years has been very significant".
Mr Martin said the HSE would have to work with the Government to ensure there was a deeper analysis of health spending, given that increased investment.
He said there had clearly been an "over-personalisation" of criticism of the Minister for Health, in the aftermath of last week's budget.
Mr Martin said the Government in its entirety was responsible for the Budget and he said "enormous resources" had been allocated since the coalition took office, leading to an expansion of health services.
But he said a deeper analysis was needed to fully assess the issues surrounding the funding of the health service.
Earlier, Social Democrats' spokesperson on health Róisín Shortall voiced a similar view to that of Sinn Féin saying the proper funding of healthcare is a whole of Government responsibility.
Labour's spokesperson on health Duncan Smith said he wanted to hear Minister Donnelly's plans to deal with the recruitment freeze in the HSE.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Mr Smith said the HSE freeze will cause massive harm. He called on Minister Donnelly to re-engage with Minister for Public Expenditure Paschal Donohoe.
Under Budget 2024, €22.5bn was allocated for the public health system.
Mr Donohoe said that this includes an €808m increase in core current funding to address demographic and service pressures.
Mr Smith said health staff are all already working "to the pin of their collar" and said there is a problem with overspending in the HSE.
"At the end of the day they're going to have to get more funding because we do have a bigger population and it's a demand led service and that's a reality," he added.
Speaking on RTÉ'S Today with Claire Byrne, Fianna Fáil TD Jack Chambers said the health allocation in Budget 2024 is very challenging but the level of investment in the HSE is at an "unprecedented level".
However he added that if the post-Covid demand continues next year it is clear that there will be a requirement for a supplementary health budget.
There is not full clarity on what that projected level of demand might be, he said.
The minister pointed out that projections for 2023 were exceeded.
He said over 2,000 health staff will still be recruited next year and there will be further investment in medicines.
He said talk of a vote of no confidence in Mr Donnelly was "very unfair".
