THE HEALTH Service Executive (HSE) is paying more than €25,000 a month for the services of Prof Tom Keane, the British Columbia based consultant who was brought in by the Government to oversee the State's cancer control programme.
The vast bulk of this is understood to comprise his salary, which is thought to be equivalent to about €300,000 per annum.
However, due to the nature of Prof Keane's contract, it was not possible to break the overall figures down further, a HSE spokeswoman said.
Outlining for the first time the terms of his two-year appointment as interim director of the National Cancer Control Programme, she said he formally remained in the employ of the British Columbia Cancer Control Agency (BCCA), where he holds the post of provincial radiation programme leader.
Under the terms of a contract with the BCCA, the HSE has agreed to reimburse it for a "range of services", inclusive of the salary of Prof Keane, according to the spokeswoman.
The total value of this contract is 504,000 Canadian dollars, which she said was equivalent to €317,000 annually for two years.
The other services referred to are believed to include access to relevant BCCA expertise as and when this is deemed necessary, but form only a small part of the overall figure.
Asked if Prof Keane's contract included allowances for any bonus payments, the spokeswoman said that to the "best of my knowledge, the contract is the total sum" as it was a "very specific arrangement between the two bodies".
"[ Prof Keane's] appointment followed the signing of a formal Memorandum of Understanding between the HSE and the BCCA in December 2006. That understanding confirmed an agreement between the HSE and BCCA to 'work collaboratively in the establishment of a National Cancer Control Programme within the HSE'," the spokeswoman said.
"The health service was involved in a process of engagement with the BCCA over the past three years and representatives from the BCCA worked with the HSE providing technical assistance . . . The subsequent National Cancer Control Programme devised by the HSE is largely based on the BCCA model."
As a result, it was considered "highly appropriate" that Prof Keane, with his expertise and experience in the Canadian system, would assume the interim position in Ireland.