The arrangement whereby a consultant is acting as a temporary chief executive of the VHI was raised by the Fine Gael spokesman on health, Mr Alan Shatter. He said it was bizarre that the Government had turned down the appointment of a chief executive at a salary of £150,000 a year and supported the continuation of a consultant acting as chief executive at a cost of £250,000.
The Minister for Health, Mr Cowen, said it was unfortunate that the level of remuneration could not be provided for a chief executive because of Government guidelines which had existed over successive administrations. He said the Government had decided the basic salary of chief executives of commercial State bodies, including the VHI, would be determined on a co-ordinated basis and taking account of rates applicable across the private sector for jobs of comparable size.
Hay Management Consultants had been appointed by the Minister for Finance to examine the matter.