Reilly says top-up payments must stop

The Government is absolutely clear that top-up payments for senior hospital and health agency executives have to stop, Minister for Health James Reilly has said.

He said senior managers in voluntary hospitals and health service agencies received the same pay and conditions as other staff across the public service “and all that went with it”.

“Therefore we expect, and it is Government policy, that they will also be subject to public pay policy grounders and conditions, and that’s the quid pro quo, you can’t have it both ways,” he said yesterday.

The HSE is today expected to finalise a report on voluntary hospitals and agencies which are considered to be compliant with official policy in relation to payment for senior executives.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny told the Dáil that by yesterday, of the 44 voluntary hospitals and agencies funded under section 38, seven had replied to say they were compliant with Government pay policy, while 13 said they were non-compliant.

He said others maintained they either needed more time to respond or needed legal advice.

The Department of Health and the HSE both declined last night to release the identities of the hospitals and agencies that had acknowledged they were in breach of official pay policy.

Under Government policy pay rates for hospital and agency chief executives range from €75,000 to €190,000.

There are also a range of additional approved allowances which can be paid.

However, a recent HSE internal audit revealed 13 organisations were paying additional remuneration or benefits to more than 30 senior managers funded from external non-State sources.

A number of organisations were also providing non-sanctioned allowances such as health insurance cover, motor and travel payments and money for acting as the secretary to companies or boards which were funded from their State allocation.

The Irish Times has reported over recent days that internal Department of Health files obtained by the newspaper show that among the payments made to executives from private sources were a €45,000 allowance to the master of the National Maternity Hospital and a €17,000 allowance to the master of the Rotunda Hospital.

A €30,000 allowance to the chief executive of Our Lady’s hospital in Crumlin was drawn from the profits of shops on the campus.

Dr Reilly said there could be extenuating circumstances under which agencies could make a business case to retain top-up payments for senior staff.

Apart from the HSE report on compliance which is expected to go to Government today the question of top-up payments is expected to be considered by a number of Oireachtas committees this week.

The chairman of the Dáil Public Accounts Committee, John McGuinness, said he would be seeking it to hold a special hearing into what he described as unacceptable practices in the health service.