07/06/2010

Gov To Pay HSE Boss €100k Extra

It has emerged the Government is planning to pay new HSE Chief Executive Officer, Cathal Magee almost €100,000 more than initially planned.

The Minister for Health Mary Harney has defended the decision saying the salary of €322,000 was the same as the outgoing CEO and was a reduction from what he was currently earning.

However, Minister Harney told the Dáil in March that Mr Magee would be paid a salary of €228,466, which would be in line with the salary of the Secretaries General to the Departments of the Taoiseach and Finance.

Defending the salary increase, Ms Harney said: "It is a big salary, but he will be managing a €15 billion budget. He is going to get the same budget as Prof Brendan Drumm is getting on his exit, and there will be no bonus paid.

"Chief executives of health systems around the world are paid substantially more than what we are paying in Ireland."

Ms Harney added that when the HSE sought to recruit a new CEO it learnt very quickly the recommended salary, which was €100,000 less than is to be paid to the new Chief Executive, was not one that would have attracted somebody that was capable of doing the job.

Commenting on what the major challenges would be for Magee when he takes up his post on September 1, the Minister stressed it would be the cutbacks in the public health service next year.

(DW/GK)

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