Healthcare reform chief could get €24,000 bonus

The Department of Health has suggested a "flexible payment" or performance bonus of €24,000 be offered to the person appointed to implement the new Sláintecare health reform plan.

The Department of Health urged the Department of Public Expenditure in a submission that a salary package of between €147,000 and €171,000 should be considered.

The Government ended the last performance-related pay system in the public service in 2009.

It said the implementation of the Sláintecare reform programme was a very important Government priority and that it was essential for the success and credibility of the process that a very high-calibre candidate be recruited.

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The Department of Health proposed offering a five-year contract as part of the recruitment process with the possibility of renewal for a further period. It said the contract would not be specifically linked to a Civil Service grade “given the fairly unique skillset and experience necessary”.

The Department of Health suggested a salary range – which would not be published in the advertisement – starting at €147,000. This would be the equivalent to the top of the existing assistant secretary salary scale. It would run to €171,000, which is the rate for a level III secretary general in the Civil Service.

“We could consider making the €24,000 in the salary range a ‘flexible pay’ element based upon the extent to which annually agreed milestones are delivered,” the submission to the Department of Public Expenditure stated.

Executive search

The Department of Health also proposed an executive search firm would be commissioned to try to attract candidates nationally and internationally in addition to a public advertisement campaign run by the Public Appointment Service.

The Department of Health proposed if a person from abroad was recruited to the post, it would offer “removal expenses and up to three months’ accommodation rental”.

The Sláintecare plan is the Government’s new 10-year programme for reform the country’s health services.

The Government announced in October that it would allocate €1 million next year to fund the establishment of a Sláintecare implementation office.

However, critics have argued progress on the implementation of the Sláintecare plan, which has all-party backing in the Oireachtas, has been too slow.

The Sláintecare plan involves moving to a new single-tier health system with the abolition of private practice in public hospitals.

The plan envisages the allocation of up to €400 million a year in additional health funding and €3 billion to fund the transition to a single-tier system and sort out legacy arrangements.

The Department of Public Expenditure and Reform said at the weekend that since the termination by Government of the scheme of performance-related pay in 2009, such payment arrangements have not been sanctioned for civil servants or similar grades in other parts of the public service.