Seán Power (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)

I thank Deputy Stanton for raising this matter on the Adjournment this evening I will attempt to clarify the matters raised by the Deputy.

As he knows these issues are primarily a matter for the Health Service Executive. Cobh General Hospital is a community-run facility with an independent board of management overseeing its administration. It is a legal entity in its own right and plays an important role in delivering services to older people in the Cobh area, through the provision of private and contracted publicly-funded beds. This is not a HSE hospital. It is, however, contracted by the Health Service Executive Southern Area, as one of a number of health care providers, to provide step-down facilities for older people in the region.

It is important to point out that employees of Cobh Hospital are not public sector employees and therefore do not have access to any public sector pension schemes. Eligibility for membership of public health sector pension schemes is based on a number of strict criteria that employees of Cobh General Hospital do not meet. The staff involved are the employees of the board of Cobh Hospital and their contracts of employment are with Cobh Hospital. The Department is advised by HSE southern area that there are no plans to change the employer-employee relationship.

The hospital, as an employer, is legally obliged to provide access to personal retirement savings accounts, PRSAs, for their employees. Employers are not obliged to contribute to a PRSA but must provide access for employees so that the employees can contribute if they wish to do so. The management of the hospital fulfilled its obligation in this regard in 2003. I am informed that there was no uptake by employees. Management at the hospital advised a Labour Court hearing in July of this year that due to a lack of resources, it was unable to introduce a pension scheme.

The Department of Health and Children is advised by HSE Southern Area that, following a recommendation of the Labour Relations Commission hearing in August 2005, there were discussions regarding governance and structural and management change at the hospital. The Labour Court recommended that the ongoing discussion between the HSE and Cobh Hospital continue. I confirm that regular meetings have taken place and will continue in this regard.

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