HEALTH MINISTER JAMES Reilly has expressed concern about revelations that one in four of the 43 State funded hospitals and health agencies are breaching official policy on pay in the case of some senior executives.
Reilly was responding to Department of Health figures which show some senior staff in the health service receiving overall pay packages which exceed €200,000 annually, including top-up payments to their salary.
Speaking at a media briefing earlier Reilly said that while he does not want to pre-empt the findings and recommendations of a current HSE audit “we’re absolutely clear at government level that this has got to stop”.
He added: “People want to feel that everyone is in the same boat here, this country is trying to get back on its feet.”
Reilly said that the Department and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform have both reiterated to hospitals that they must comply with public sector pay guidelines and said the deadline for hospitals to report back to the HSE is today.
Earlier Taoiseach Enda Kenny told the Dáil that of the 44 agencies involved in the HSE audit, seven have replied to say they were compliant with pay guidelines, 13 said they were non-compliant and the rest had yet to respond.
“This Government in attempting to weed out any additional sweeteners, ” he promised during Leaders’ Questions.
Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams has called on the government to end the “culture of privilege” at the top of the HSE.
He said: “At a time of savage cutbacks to disability services, with hard-pressed families forced to fundraise for vital supports for their children, surely these proceeds should be used for hospital services, rather than a top-up for very well-paid executives?”
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