What are the National Financial Regulations?
The NFRs are policy documents that form part of the overall HSE internal control environment by providing a high-level framework within which the internal financial controls operate.
The NFRs have been prepared to ensure the financial controls are consistent with:
- Irish and EU statutory requirements
- achievement of best Value for Money (VFM)
- government policies and guidelines
Who do the National Financial Regulations apply to?
The National Financial Regulations apply to all staff in all divisions, Community Healthcare Organisations (CHOs) and Hospital Groups where services are provided on behalf of the HSE. This includes permanent, temporary and agency staff. Equivalent controls should also be implemented by Section 38 and Section 39 providers where services are being provided on behalf of the HSE or where HSE grant aid funding is being received.
The relaunched NFRs
The key objective of the NFR relaunch process is accessibility. The NFRs should:
- be easy to use and navigate
- provide clarity and allow for regular updates to ensure they are in line with legislation, regulation and best practice principles
- be easily understood by a wide audience utilising Plain English principles where appropriate
Following subject matter expert consultation (which included SME workshops with participation invited from all sectors of the HSE) a revised framework has been designed which resulted in reducing the previous 31 NFRs into 11. The 11 NFRs are structured into 4 over-arching areas:
All revised NFRs can now be viewed on the NFR documents page.
An introduction video to the rewritten NFR documents
Helpful links
