The board of St Vincent's Healthcare Group is expected to meet in the coming days to consider the plan by the HSE to dock the funding of St Vincent's public hospital by 20 per cent from the end of the week for failure to comply with Government pay policy.
Separately the board of the Rehab group will meet today to discuss whether to make public the current remuneration of its group chief executive, Angela Kerins.
Surprised
St Vincent's hospital has not commented on the HSE's announcement of a funding cut from last Friday. However, senior figures are said to be surprised at the HSE move as the organisation was in a process to try to achieve compliance with pay policy for senior executives. This process was to run until the end of March.
Last month the chairman of St Vincent's Healthcare Group, Noel Whelan, appeared before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and said its legal advice was that it was in line with policy as public money was not being used for top-ups.
However, he said it was in a process aimed at resolving its dispute with the HSE as to whether or not it was in compliance and this would be complete by March, a scenario that has no doubt added to the element of surprise at the hospital’s inclusion and related funding deduction. Agencies that are working through a “business case” appeal with the HSE to allow them to retain certain additional payments are not losing funding.
It is understood Mr Whelan received a letter from HSE chief financial officer Thomas Byrne last Friday afternoon, just hours before the five institutions not complying with Government pay policy were named publicly.
None of the other institutions identified – St James's Hospital, St John of God's and the Brothers of Charity South and South East – have commented.
Reduction
The HSE has told the five agencies their funding will be reduced by 20 per cent until they come into line with policy but claimed this did not amount to a budget cut and so should not affect services.
The reduction relates specifically to 20 per cent of whatever proportion of the overall annual budget each organisation draws down on a month-by- month basis from this Friday onwards. The HSE has advised each of the five not to allow this to affect patients or clients.
Further debate on the issue of organisations and how they pay their senior executives is likely to arise after a meeting of the board of Rehab today.
Plans for the meeting were announced last month and it was prompted in part by Taoiseach Enda Kenny who added his voice to a growing demand for the salary details of its chief executive to be made public after her refusal to do so. “Where the public purse is concerned, and people who give donations, they need to know that everything is above board, accountable and transparent and that donations are going for the purposes intended,” Mr Kenny had said.
In response, Rehab chairman Brian Kerr said a statement would be released following the board meeting. "This matter is properly a matter for the board and not Ms Kerins, and some of the pressure that has been placed on her and her family has been entirely unfair and very personal."
