Mr. Barry O'Brien:

The correspondence between the HSE and the CRC clearly indicates that both parties recognise the need to have full regard for what is stated in the service level agreement. To be in full compliance with public pay policy, the CRC wrote to reassure us that Mr. Kiely was about to retire and, as previously committed to by Mr. Peelo, it would re-engage with us. What actually happened, however, was that it proceeded to make the appointment without getting formal approval for the salary the post would attract. It subsequently emerged that the board of the CRC had determined the pay rate Mr. Conlan would attract without approval or direct engagement by the HSE. That is where the issue arose subsequently when, on a retrospective analysis, we stated €125,000 was never the approved salary for the job. Therefore, we agreed that from 1 October a contract of employment at an agreed pay rate would apply.