Increase in HSE staff earning over €100,000

At the end of last year, 2,358 staff were earning six-figure salaries, at a cost of almost €378 million

THE NUMBER of HSE staff earning over €100,000 a year is increasing despite the wider cutbacks in the health service budget.

At the end of last year, 2,358 staff were earning six-figure salaries, at a combined cost of almost €378 million, according to figures provided by the HSE. This represents an increase of 69 over the previous figure of 2,289 given to the Dáil by Minister for Health James Reilly last year.

The vast majority are medical consultants working in HSE hospitals. However, the figures do not include consultants working in voluntary hospitals, many of whom would be earning well over €100,000 a year.

The figures show 12 HSE managers or administrators are earning over €100,000, as are 37 nursing staff.

A total of 1,670 medical and dental staff are earning €100,000, the figures supplied by the HSE to Labour TD Ged Nash show.

Surprisingly, HSE West is the area with the greatest number of medical and dental staff earning over €100,000, with 358. The southern area has 308 top-earning medical and dental staff while the eastern region has only 298.

Mr Nash was critical yesterday of the rising cost of administrative salaries in the organisation. “One of the first tasks that the Minister for Health must confront when the HSE is formally abolished is to learn the lessons of the organisational failure created when the executive was established in the first instance.”

He said there was a strong argument for abolishing the former health boards on the basis that administrative costs alone were skyrocketing.

“In fact, it seems to me that far from arresting the costs related to highly paid administrative and management jobs in the old health boards system, the HSE has presided over a flourishing of administration and management jobs that are extremely well rewarded.”

Last year, Dr Reilly said the HSE had estimated that the capping of top salaries at €100,000 would generate savings of about €153 million.

Separately, Dr Reilly suggested that a cap on hospital consultants’ salaries of €150,000 could produce savings of about €100 million.