Written answers

Tuesday, 8 April 2014

Department of Health

Health Services Staff Remuneration

Photo of Éamon Ó CuívÉamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

631. To ask the Minister for Health if the salary agreed in respect of a person (details supplied) exceeds the national pay guidelines for the public service; if a special allowance was approved for this person to relocate; the amount of this allowance; if the permission of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform was granted for this remuneration package; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16414/14]

Photo of James ReillyJames Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

In late 2011 the HSE identified an urgent need to put in place appropriate management arrangements for the Galway and Roscommon hospitals, in view of the need to address critical service difficulties that had been identified in the hospitals concerned. Despite the best efforts of the HSE it had not been possible to attract senior managers with the requisite expertise to run the hospitals. For that reason individual senior managers were identified from within the system to take on new Group CEO roles for a period.

Mr Bill Maher was identified as the most appropriate person to take on the role of Chief Executive of the Galway/Roscommon hospital group, on a secondment basis for three years from his position as Chief Operations Officer at St. Vincent’s Hospital. Following a request by the Department of Health, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform (DPER) approved this secondment on a personal-to-holder basis. The remuneration package reflected the level at which Mr Maher was being remunerated by the St Vincent’s Hospital Group in respect of his duties in the public hospital and additional work undertaken separately for St Vincent’s Private Hospital.

These secondment arrangements were approved as an exceptional matter and did not represent a change in overall public service pay policy. One of the conditions of the DPER sanction was that this arrangement should be subject to annual review. I can confirm that the National Director of Acute Hospitals in the HSE is in the process of reviewing the secondment arrangement of Mr. Maher to the Galway Hospital Group.

Comments

No comments

Log in or join to post a public comment.