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HSE Director General Tony O'Brien and Health Minister James Reilly Photocall Ireland
top up scandal

Hospital bosses to face grillings next week over 'top up' payments

Executives at non-compliant Section 38 hospitals and agencies are to be bought in for meetings with the HSE Director General.

TOP MANAGERS AND executives at hospitals and disability agencies that are non-complaint with Government pay policy are to be hauled in for meetings with the Director General of the HSE from next week.

Health Minister James Reilly and HSE boss Tony O’Brien held a meeting this evening to discuss the ongoing controversy.

According to a statement from the Department of Health, the HSE have been told by the Minsiter to take “whatever actions are necessary” to deliver full compliance “and ensure that any governance deficits identified are comprehensively rectified immediately”.

O’Brien confirmed last week that, of the 42 ‘Section 38′ organisations in the state, the HSE had found only seven were fully compliant with guidelines on pay.

The findings were made following an internal audit ordered last year. Some of the payment practices date back as far as 1996.

According to this evening’s statement from the Department:

Meetings are now being arranged with each agency concerned.

Arising from this process, those found not to be compliant will be called in by the Director General to meet him before Christmas.

Such meetings will commence next week.

Under Section 38 of the Health Act 2004, which includes both health agencies and voluntary hospitals, bodies may not supplement approved rates of remuneration with either Exchequer funding or non-government sources of funding.

Read: HSE were sent reports stating a portion of salaries were being paid with lottery proceeds, says CRC

Read: Quinn says CRC board should resign, Burton says salary claims are ‘disturbing’>

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