Mr. Barry O'Brien:

The Chairman referenced an allowance being paid to Mr. Tony O'Brien, our director general. In the interests of clarity, it is a completely separate matter to what is before the committee but Mr. O'Brien was requested by the HSE to take up a new role in 2016 that effectively changed his substantive position. On this basis, he entered into a pay arrangement. He received written confirmation of these new terms from the HSE. He was not aware until recently that the HSE had failed to properly process the new arrangement. Had Mr. O'Brien known that the arrangement had not been properly processed, he would have ensured that it was immediately rectified in order to correctly reflect the agreement.

As far as we are concerned, a genuine error was made and Mr. O'Brien entered his role in good faith and has carried out all the duties of that role. His current role as director general is totally separate and it has been fully and appropriately approved and negotiated by the Departments of Public Expenditure and Reform and Health.