Colm Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

We had a budget dealing with nursing home charges that had to be refunded. It amounted to €500 million. That sum would be very handy if it did not have to be refunded. However, because there was a failure by successive Ministers to deal with the issue and no legislation in place to deal with the matter properly, the money was refunded. The leader of Fianna Fáil, Deputy Micheál Martin, was a Minister when in 2001 the then Ombudsman, Ms Emily O'Reilly, advised him there was a need for action to be taken. No action was taken until the matter was taken to the courts.

Senator Marc MacSharry should note that the Minister for Health, Deputy James Reilly, was at a meeting of the Joint Committee on Health and Children for three hours last week and anyone who wanted to raise questions could do so. Issues were raised and the Minister dealt with them. It is not the case that he is not available to Members as he is available at the committee, at which he must turn up. He does turn up and deals with the issues raised. At a meeting of the committee I raised an issue about which I am concerned, namely, the €3.4 billion in the health budget paid to non-HSE organisations. Some have section 38 status whereby all the rules in regard to pay and conditions must comply with HSE standards. Some money, however, is being paid to organisations that fall under section 39 and the same set of rules does not apply. I am being advised that a CEO in one of these organisations is earning over €340,000 a year, which is in excess of the money earned by the Taoiseach, the Minister or anyone else in the country. It is taxpayers' money. Any organisation receiving money from the Department of Health or the HSE should now declare openly what its chief executive officer is earning and the proportion of this salary coming directly from the HSE.