Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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163. To ask the Minister for Health the costs to date of suspensions of staff at Our Lady’s Hospice, Harold’s Cross; and the cost of external investigators hired by the hospice over the past five years to conduct disciplinary or other inquiries into staff. [38939/18]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I have asked the HSE to respond to you directly on this matter.

Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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164. To ask the Minister for Health if section 38 and 39 organisation such as Our Lady’s Hospice, Harold’s Cross are covered by the procurement guidelines that govern the hiring of external investigators to examine industrial relations of staff related issues in their organisations. [38940/18]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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In addition to the health and social care services which it directly provides the HSE also enters into arrangements with service providers for the provision of health and personal social care services on its behalf.

The Health Act 2004 provides the legal framework for the HSE to enter into arrangements or agreements with two distinct categories of agencies/groups:

Section 38 (1) states that:

The Executive may, subject to its available resources and any directions issued by the Minister under section 10, enter, on such terms and conditions as it considers appropriate, into an arrangement with a person for the provision of a health or personal social service by that person on behalf of the Executive and

Section 39 (1) states that: The Executive may, subject to any directions given by the Minister under section 10 and on such terms and conditions as it sees fit to impose, give assistance to any person or body that provides or proposes to provide a service similar or ancillary to a service that the Executive may provide.

The HSE enters into Service Arrangements regarding the funding which it provides to Section 38 and section 39 bodies and public procurement is defined in the Service Arrangement documentation. 

The HSE has confirmed that section 38 and section 39 bodies must adhere to procurement guidelines where the goods or services being procured relate to Exchequer funding.Our Ladys Hospice in Harolds Cross is a Body funded under section 38 of the Health Act and therefore if the external investigator services which were being procured by it related to Exchequer funding they should have been procured in accordance with procurement guidelines.