The Department of Health has warned that it is finding it increasingly difficult to secure appropriate persons to serve on State boards in the health sector due to the level of payments it can offer under official Government rules.
An internal Department of Health briefing note says that given the increasing level of complexity, accountability and time commitment now attached to board membership, Ministers are being requested to pay fees in a growing number of cases and at a higher rate of remuneration than is permissible. It says "it can be very difficult and usually impossible" to obtain Department of Finance sanction for higher fees in such circumstances.
"The application by the Department of Finance of the one person, one salary [ from the public purse] principle is making it ever harder to attract board members of the right calibre and knowledge base," the briefing note states.
The Department of Health briefing paper also states that there is a lack of clarity regarding the application of a Government decision in the early 1980s advising against the appointment of a person over the age of 70 to a State board. "This Department is pursuing the matter with the Department of Finance," the briefing note states.
The briefing paper also says that while modern health legislation provides for the payment of fees in most cases, "there is an ongoing difficulty with older legislation which either specifically debars the payment of fees or is simply silent on the issue".
"In many such cases it would require a change in primary legislation to overcome this problem and the agreement of the Department of Finance," it states.
The Department of Health is responsible for the appointment of the membership of a number of sensitive State boards and agencies in the health sector including the board of the HSE, the Irish Blood Transfusion Board and the VHI. The Minister for Health also appoints a number of members to several hospital boards as well as to the Medical Council.
There is no indication in the briefing paper regarding specific boards or agencies to which the department found difficulties in appointing appropriate persons.
The level of fees payable to members of State boards is set under a Government decision of January last year. The rates paid to chairs and directors on State boards vary according to the agency concerned. At present each of the State bodies is placed in one of four categories for fee purposes, which are determined by reference to the remuneration of the chief executives.
Fees for the chair of a State body range from €10,500 to €35,000 depending on the category of the agency concerned. Fees for directors are €7,000-€17,500 depending on the category of the agency.
Under the Department of Finance rules, the HSE is considered a category I agency with the chair and directors qualifying for the highest level fees of €35,000 and €17,500 respectively. The VHI is a category II body while the IBTS is a category III agency.