HSE to urge ending of top-up payments for voluntary health agency chiefs

The HSE is to urge voluntary hospitals and agencies to cease paying allowances to senior executives which are outside public service pay rules.

The HSE said yesterday it was seeking confirmation from these organisations, known officially as section 38 bodies, that they were fully compliant with public pay policy.

The HSE said it had requested the Department of Health to provide a clear policy statement on pay and allowances including a definitive list of sanctioned allowances.

“Furthermore, the HSE is seeking confirmation from the Section 38s that they are fully compliant with public pay policy and to cease payment of allowances that are not on the list of sanctioned allowances.”

The Irish Times reported yesterday that a HSE internal audit report had found that executives in State-funded voluntary hospitals and agencies were receiving more than €3.2 million in allowances and benefits on top of salary financed from HSE-provided money.

In addition, the audit found that 13 agencies were paying nearly 50 managers more than €912,000 in top-up salary, allowances and benefits from private funds separate to the State allocation.

A spokesman for the Department of Health said it had written to the HSE with a clear statement of public pay policy and that the HSE had been asked to give effect to this.