Hospital and agency chiefs receive €3.2m in top-up pay

Executives at State-funded voluntary hospitals and agencies are receiving more than €3.2 million in allowances and benefits on top of salary, a confidential report has found.

Among the top-up payments and benefits being provided using funds allocated by the HSE to the voluntary bodies are private health insurance cover, motor allowances and extra duty allowances.

The unpublished report, carried out by the HSE’s internal audit unit, maintained that 13 agencies were paying €912,000 to nearly 50 managers in top-up salary, allowances and benefits from private funds separate to the State allocations to the voluntary organisations.

The report investigated remuneration of senior managers in organisations known as “Section 38 agencies”, which include voluntary acute hospitals and voluntary agencies providing services for people with disabilities.

Pay scales
The report said at least 36 separate allowances were being paid to nearly 250 managers in voluntary agencies. Some were not contained in public service pay scales.

It found some agencies were paying “on call-type allowances” to non-clinical management.

The report said in cases where management pay exceeded official scales, the agencies argued they had received verbal approval in the past from the Department of Health.