Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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660. To ask the Minister for Health if he has at any stage since 9 March 2011 sought approval from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform or the Department of Finance for any salary or remuneration package with an annual value above €145,000 to be provided to any hospital administrator or hospital group administrator; if so, the date on which the approval was sought; if and when approval was given; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50777/13]

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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On 2 December 2011 my Department sought approval from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform (DPER) for the appointment of CEOs for the Galway/Roscommon and the Mid-West Hospital Groups at salaries above €145,000. The approval of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform to these arrangements was received on 13 December 2011. The posts were sanctioned on the basis of temporary transfers to fulfil significant additional managerial duties as a result of the identification of critical service difficulties in both groups of hospitals. The post in the Mid-West Hospital Group was sanctioned at HSE National Director Level 2 level. Remuneration for the Galway/Roscommon post was approved on a personal-to-holder basis and was commensurate with the existing remuneration package of the individual concerned.

These posts were filled on a temporary basis pending development of the overall plans for the establishment of a National Group Hospital structure as a transition to Independent Hospital Trusts. The Government’s plans in this regard were set out in the Report The Establishment of Hospital Groups as a transition to Independent Hospital Trusts, which was published on 14 May 2013.

In the context of correspondence regarding the establishment of revised senior management structures within the HSE, on 23 October 2012 my Department wrote to the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, seeking approval for a salary of €145,959 for the Chief Executive Officers of Hospital Groups when these came to be established. Approval for this rate was granted by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform on 11 December, 2012. The approved rate has since been reduced, under the provisions of the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Act 2013, to €136,282. The posts of CEO for the Dublin North East, Dublin Midlands, Dublin East and South/South West Hospital groups have been advertised in recent days.