HSE's legal head still a member of Law Library

THE BARRISTER appointed to head up legal services in the Health Service Executive (HSE) continues to be a member of the Law Library, the HSE has confirmed.

In March 2010, Eunice O’Raw, a former Mahon tribunal barrister, was appointed head of legal services at the HSE, a post which carries a salary of €115,000 per year.

Since then, Ms O’Raw has continued as a member of the Law Library and is listed as a trained barrister and mediator on the Bar Council website.

A HSE spokeswoman said Ms O’Raw was a qualified but non-practising member of the Bar Council, and added that she is employed on a full-time basis by the HSE. “Her membership of the Bar Council of Ireland has no impact on her role as head of legal services for the Health Service Executive,” the spokeswoman said.

Membership of the Law Library is normally confined to barristers in full-time practice at the Bar and members are required to give up their seat if they take up a full-time job which causes them to be unavailable to take instructions.

Some exceptions are made, such as when younger barristers supplement their income through part-time work in teaching or journalism.

Ms O’Raw, who also sits on the board of RTÉ, earned more than €4 million in fees as a barrister at the Mahon tribunal over the period of a decade.

Although it has set up a four-strong legal affairs department headed by Ms O’Raw, the HSE board last year awarded a €19 million a year contract for legal services to an outside legal firm, Arthur Cox. It was chosen for the contract despite the fact that its bid was significantly higher than that of a rival consortium of legal firms.