The heads of the new groups of hospitals to be established around the Republic should be paid €136,282, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform has determined.
Under health reform plans announced in May by the Minister for Health Dr James Reilly, hospitals across the State are to be divided into six groups.
The groups will be located in the Dublin North East, Dublin Midlands, Dublin East, South/ South West, West/North West and Midwest regions.
Each group will comprise between six and 11 hospitals, and will include at least one major teaching hospital and an academic partner.
An expert group that reported to the Minister recommended that each group should have a chief executive, a chief clinical director, a chief nursing officer, a chief academic officer, a chief finance officer and a chief operations officer.
The Department of Health told the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform in June that the post of chief academic officers would “require further consideration in conjunction with the education sector” and that it was not seeking agreement on a grading for the position at that time.
The Department of Health told The Irish Times it had received approval subsequently that the group chief executives should receive a salary of €136,282; operations officers €90,514-€110,183; financial officers €90,514-€110,183 and directors of nursing €70,031- €81,552.
It said that group clinical directors, who generally were hospital consultants, should be paid an allowance “at the standard rate”.
This would be on top of their medical salary. The HSE told the Oireachtas last year that clinical directors were receiving an allowance of €43,000 at that time.
Chief executives in two of the groups already in place are expected to be allowed to retain, on an individual basis, any payment they are receiving in excess of the new cap.
Under reforms to the HSE structure, where a new directorate system came into force last month, the new director general, Tony O’Brien, is to receive a salary of €185,350, the same as the Taoiseach.
