Health Minister Mary Harney should put a stop to the €1.4 million in bonuses paid to 100 HSE executives and to the fees and bonuses given to PR consultants or else she should resign from her position.
This is the view of Fine Gael Galway West TD Padraic McCormack, who becomes the second Galway politician in a week to call for the resignation of Minister Harney. Last week former PD and now Independent Cllr Tom Welby called for her to stand down.
Following revelations that the top HSE executives are so highly paid, Dep McCormack is asking why there is a need for the HSE to also pay PR consultants and senior executives “tens of thousands in fees and bonuses above their exorbitant salaries?”
According to Dep McCormack, in figures released recently show €1,367 a day was paid to a close associate of Prof Brendan Drumm, the chief executive HSE. Others received sums of €724 a day for work outside their contract.
“Mr Drumm cannot stand over these payments,” said Dep McCormack. “At a time when there are severe cut backs on front line services in the health sector, why has the Minister failed to act in this scandal considering she established the HSE and appointed Mr Drumm as chief executive?”
Dep McCormack raised the matter at the Public Accounts Committee in July and October. He condemned the fact that €1.4 million in bonuses was to be paid to 100 top executives on top of salaries ranging from €250,000 to €380,000 per year.
“Now these senior health personnel are to pay themselves unearned bonuses,” he said. “The chief executive of the HSE has a salary of €380,000 per year and now will be paid a bonus of €80,000 which will bring his pay up to approximately €1,700 every working day or €8,500 per week.”
Dep McCormack said this was “breath-taking arrogance” at a time of savage cut backs.
“The buck stops with the Minister,” he said. “She should stop this or resign.”
