Colm Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for their presentation. I wish to focus on Questions Nos. 3 and 5. Question 5 related to NCHDs. I based my question on the figures made available to me at the time. The agency cost for NCHDs was approximately €50 million. I am open to correction but I note that in the reply the hours contracted out to agencies is equivalent to 175 whole-time equivalents. If one divides 175 into €50 million it works out at €280,500 per whole-time equivalent. Perhaps we could get clarification on the real cost of agency staff because I base my calculation on the reply I received which is based on the cost of agency provision of junior doctors of €50 million.

I am also concerned about the reply to my second question. I raised the issue consistently since June 2011. It relates to the fact that more than 2,000 junior doctors are still on six-month contracts. I accept what the Minister said about the interim report but I am a little disappointed that the final report will not be available until June which means there will be very little real change until January 2015. We have a huge drain of junior doctors out of the country and that is one of the issues that must be tackled. The reply I received today said it is not anticipated that the number of NCHDs holding six-month contracts would reduce in the short-term. I am concerned with the reply in terms of when exactly we will have a reduction in the number of people being offered six-month contracts and moving to at least two-year or three-year contracts.

That is my first question.

My second question is on question No. 3, which relates to the €812 million paid to section 39 organisations. I note and welcome that the reply states that a letter was sent to section 39 organisations on 10 December, which is a number of days after I had submitted my question, and I am delighted that section 39 organisations will now be required to make disclosure to the Health Service Executive as regards the pay to senior management. It is disappointing that we are paying out €812 million to section 39 organisations yet we do not have the information on the current pay scales of people in senior management in many of these organisations, and there is substantial funding. I understand that over 131 organisations are receiving between €1 million and €10 million. I specifically asked my question on the level of pay. The HSE is now saying that for 2014 it has to make that information available. I ask that this information be made available to this committee because when I asked a question about section 38 organisations on 17 October, the information was not given to me but it was made available to the media within seven to ten days and it is disappointing that it was not made available to this committee first. I ask that when the information on section 39 organisations becomes available it is made available to this committee at the outset rather than being released in the public domain without the members of this committee being made aware of it beforehand.