Trade unions have written to the Health Service Executive expressing concerns over its staffing plans.
Last week, following a meeting with the HSE, the ICTU group of healthcare unions warned that job vacancies up to the end of 2023 had been effectively suppressed and had now been lost.
The unions said they remain concerned over the ability of the executive to staff its services adequately.
Just over a week ago, the HSE announced that it had lifted its ban on recruitment, which had been in place since October 2023.
Today, unions accused the HSE of suppressing over 2,000 posts across all grades, including nurses and other healthcare professionals, adding that these were funded posts and cannot be allowed to be guillotined.
Unions said they are "extremely concerned" about the potential for unsafe staffing and compromised patient care.
They have also claimed that there has been a lack of consultation over the proposed staffing strategy.
"The proposed Pay and Numbers Strategy announced last week is likely to have a very serious impact on patient safety and staff wellbeing across the health service," said INMO Director of Industrial Relations Albert Murphy.
"Urgent engagement with unions is needed to ensure changes to staffing policies in the HSE don't further impact patient safety," Mr Murphy said.
Head of SIPTU's Health Division Kevin Figgis said they have written to the HSE requesting urgent engagement.
"We currently need to be taking every possible step to grow and retain the workforce, but these measures have the potential to curb that very necessary growth, increase the risk of outsourcing, with a direct impact on staff and patient safety," Mr Figgis said.
Head of Fórsa's Health and Welfare Division Ashley Connolly said healthcare unions are looking for practical solutions to the problem of safe staffing and the proposed strategy does not solve that problem.
"We require adequate staff planning at a local and national level to ensure safety of staff and patients into the coming winter and next year," Ms Connolly said.
Read more:
HSE recruitment freeze ends today
Latest healthcare stories
The ICTU Group of Healthcare Unions is made up of representatives from the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation, SIPTU, Fórsa, Irish Medical Organisation, Unite, Connect, Medical Laboratory Scientist Association.
The HSE said around 900 equivalent agency full-time posts will be converted to HSE posts this year.
The executive said a new recruitment system provides the necessary checks and balances to ensure that recruitment stays in line with its commitment to the Government.
"There will be 2,350 new jobs advertised for this year, and recruitment has started for some with the rest to be recruited by the end of the year. Managers will have to control recruitment to stay in line with the approved maximum," the HSE said.
