4.1 CEO briefing to Board
The CEO briefed the Board on several matters in private session.
4.2 CEO Monthly Report
Members of the Senior Leadership Team joined the meeting
The CEO reported to the Board on a number of the key significant areas as set out in the CEO Monthly Report.
The CEO updated the Board on Urgent and Emergency Care (UEC), noting that the significant increase rate in UEC demand experienced in January 2026 had slowed through February but highlighted that numbers are in the order of 10% + on the same period last year.
The Board discussed the six Regional Workshops chaired jointly by the Minister for Health and CEO, where some Board members were in attendance, with focus on numerous issues including the Public Only Consultant Contract, 5/7 working, agency reduction and UEC.
The Chair advised the Board of correspondence received from Minister for Health dated 24 February 2026, which reiterated the priority placed on timely access to safe high-quality services for patients, and setting out her expectations regarding the sustained priority to be given to UEC, and to the active management of the key drivers of patient flow across the patient pathway.
The Board noted that the Waiting Time Action Plan (WTAP) 2026 was launched on the 30 January 2026 and the implementation of the WTAP 2026 overseen by the Waiting List Task Force, which is co-chaired by the CEO and the Secretary General of the Department of Health (DoH) and the CEO of the HSE, held its first meeting after the launch. The CEO advised that the report on 2025 waiting list performance is nearing completion and will be shared with the Board, and recommended that the 2025 review and the 2026 pathway to achievement be reviewed by the Board with the incoming CEO at the April Board meeting.
The CEO reported to the Board that the HSE operated within the available cash of €300m and €267m supplementary funding provided for DoH and Department of Children, Disability & Equality (DCDE) funded services respectively to end 2025, and at year end the closing cash at bank position was €40.6m across all revenue accounts with a closing capital bank balance of €101.8m, giving a total year end cash holding of €142.4m. As of 31 December 2025, it was noted that the HSE was over the combined overall funded DoH Expenditure Limit and DCDE Budget by €8.1m / 0.03%, which comprised a deficit of €9.2m / 0.04% in relation to DoH limit and a surplus (€1.0m) / (0.03%) for DCDE funded.
In relation to Workforce, the Board noted at the end of January 2026, employment levels show 152,218 WTE directly employed in the provision of Health & Social Care Services by the HSE and Section 38 hospitals & agencies, reporting an increase of +557 WTE before any adjustments.
The CEO provided an update to the Board regarding the recent publication of the North Kerry CAMHS report in which several failings were identified, and the Board noted the briefing note from REO South West. It was agreed that a briefing be brought to the Performance Committee on the progress since these issues emerged and the next phase of lookback with circa 310 further cases.
In relation to CHI Risk Assessment, the CEO reported to the Board in relation to the risk assessment issues previously advised were the subject of public engagement as well as follow up with families, and outlined his satisfaction that all of these complex matters are in a well-defined process and the Board can obtain updates in the coming months.
The CEO advised that Government approval of the One Health Record (National Electronic Health Record) Preliminary Business Case (PBC) was received on 05 February 2026, and the Request to Participate (RTP) was published during the week commencing 09 February 2026 with prospective vendors requirement to submit responses by 24 March 2026. The Board noted that the Peer Review Group, held its first meeting on 12 February 2026, and that the Pre-Tender Business Case and related documents are in the process of being finalised with a view to approval.
The CEO provided the Board with updates in relation to the Medicines Management: Hospital Medicines Management System (HMMS), which is being implemented in both Acute and Community sites; and the Endoscopy Programme with the first deployment of the Endoscopy Reporting system completed at Sligo University Hospital in January 2026 and another six sites scheduled to go live in 2026.
The CEO advised that the launch AI for Care – Artificial Intelligence (AI) Strategy for Healthcare in Ireland, is due to take place in the coming weeks. He outlined a number of AI initiatives that are underway, with a plan to save 500,000 administrative hours through robotics, automation and AI-enabled process redesign which was approved by HSE SLT this month. The Board noted that over 30 AI innovation projects are being funded in 2026, including through Sláintecare Integrated Innovation Fund (SIIF), Spark Impact, Consultants Innovation Fund (CIF) and Spark Access Accelerator.
The CEO outlined to the Board a number of engagements he has made since the last Board meeting, with the dual focus of bringing matters to conclusion where appropriate prior to his departure and continuing the process of engagement with a number of HSE and Section 39 organisations.
The Board noted that the process of handover to the new CEO is almost complete, and the CEO outlined the CEO delegation timeframes to the Acting CEO.
The Chair and Board members outlined their thanks to Bernard Gloster as CEO of the HSE for the past three years and wished him well in his retirement. The CEO thanked Board members for their kind wishes and wish the incoming CEO, Anne O’Connor every success in the role.
National Performance Report
The monthly National Performance Report (NPR) December 2025 data was presented to the Board.
The December report covers the end of year performance for 2025 and provides the quarterly status update on the priority actions from the National Service Plan. The Performance Committee also reviewed this at its meeting on 19 February 2026. The Board approved the December 2025 NPR for submission to the Minister for Health, and Department of Children, Disability and Equality, and noted that once submitted, the NPR will be published on hse.ie.