THE PUBLIC ACCOUNTS Committee has indicated that it will not be using information it received relating to a recorded Department of Health meeting in its work overseeing public expenditure. 

In January, the Business Post reported that a leaked recording of an internal Department of Health meeting revealed concerns about “fake targets” and “dysfunction” in the healthcare system.

The Irish Examiner reported yesterday that the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) had been advised to ignore correspondence from a whistleblower on the matter because of how the information was obtained.

It reported that the committee was told disclosures made by Shane Corr, an official at the Department of Health, should be “denoted” because the recording was made without attendees’ knowledge and then shared with the Business Post.

A committee source told the Irish Examiner: “It basically means it isn’t on the record, it doesn’t have privilege, and the committee can’t actually consider the correspondence. If it were proved that the recordings were obtained illegally, then it would put the PAC on very dodgy ground.”

In a statement issued this evening, the Public Accounts Committee said that “in light of information in the public domain regarding recordings of staff of the Department of Health, which the Department has stated were made without their knowledge or consent, there has been some commentary regarding the role of the Committee of Public Accounts in relation to the issues raised”.

Given the apparent provenance of a number of items of correspondence that the Committee has received which relate to the matters reported on in the media, the Committee has decided that those items of correspondence are no longer documents of the Committee.

“However, the Committee is clear that issues that are important and relevant to its remit will be examined in the course of future meetings with the Department of Health and the HSE as part of its agreed work programme.”

The PAC said it “takes any concerns in relation to public expenditure extremely seriously and the issues of concern are in the public domain”.

“Central to ensuring robust financial oversight of HSE expenditure is the need for the HSE to prioritise the implementation of an Integrated Financial Management and Procurement System,” it said.

“This has already been highlighted by the Committee in correspondence with the HSE, a number of meetings with the HSE and in the Committee’s report, Examination of C&AG Special Report 110 – Nursing Homes Support Scheme (Fair Deal), published on 21 January 2021.

“In relation to the potential need for a prior year adjustment to the HSE’s accounts, as stated by the C&AG in Committee, this will be examined by the C&AG as part of his audit of the HSE’s 2021 financial statements. The Committee will consider that matter when it examines the HSE’s audited 2021 financial statements in due course.”

Taoiseach Michéal Martin faced questions in the Dáil last month after the Sunday Business Post’s report.

The leaked recording heard officials in the meeting say that a recruitment target of 10,000 was “not going to happen” and that “fake targets” were driven by politicians.

It was reported that officials made comments about “dysfunction” and distrust in the health sector.

The Taoiseach denied that the target figure of 10,000 staff recruited was driven by politicians.

“The HSE came forward last year, not politicians, with a figure of 16,000.  It was presented to a health committee meeting that the HSE said it would recruit 16,000 in 2021,” he said. 

Martin said the article was based on a “secretly recorded transcript” and that “public servants and people more generally are entitled to brainstorm or have meetings without being secretly recorded”.