Ms Rosarii Mannion:

In correspondence dated 6 July, they made reference to my e-mail of 20 May - this was a follow-up email - the original e-mail was 5 May. The correspondence stated that all remuneration, including perks paid to employees, was in accordance with Department of Health consolidated pay scales, with the exception of the chief executive salary, which had been identified by the chairperson of the board of St. John of God Community Service in the annual compliance statement 2015 as being non-compliant. That is correct; one case had been identified as being non-compliant. The correspondence further stated that non-Exchequer sources of funding were not used to supplement employee remuneration to give rise to rates of individual remuneration, including perks, that exceeded Department of Health consolidated pay scales. It continued by stating that if unsanctioned payments were paid previously, then all such payments had now ceased. Finally, the correspondence stated that where appropriate all overpayments had been or were in the process of being recouped as expeditiously as possible.

Again, I have the correspondence and I can share it with committee members. We were notified on 1 July by St. John of God. The correspondence goes through the full chronology in a detailed letter. St. John of God notified us that significant payments had been made to 14 senior managers. One paragraph of particular interest in the letter states:

It is acknowledged that details of the above regularisation arrangements and the external financial advice received at this time was not shared with the HSE. The order... understood and took it that arrangements entered into on the basis of salary advice received was regularised in salary arrangements in compliance with consolidated pay scales.

It is very important to note that 1 July was the first time that the HSE was made aware of these payments to the 14 managers. The names and payments are listed.