MINISTER FOR Health Mary Harneycould stop the €70,000 bonus being paid to Health Service Executive (HSE) chief executive Prof Brendan Drumm, the Dáil was told.

The claim was made by Labour leader Eamon Gilmore, who noted that Ms Harney had said it was a matter for the HSE board.

“This is not strictly correct because the Minister has the power under section 10 of the Health Act 2004 to give direction to the HSE in respect of any matter,” he added. “Any such direction is then laid before the House.”

On the Order of Business, he asked Tánaiste Mary Coughlanif Ms Harney had plans to issue a direction to the HSE on whether the bonus should be paid.

Ms Coughlan replied that Ms Harney had indicated that the matter referred to a 2007 bonus.

“The Government stated clearly that no bonuses would be paid in 2008 and 2009, and it is a matter for the board,” Ms Coughlan added.

It was revealed this week that Prof Drumm sent a five-page letter to the organisation’s remuneration committee stating the reasons why he merited a bonus for 2007.

He stated he was certain that “significant strides” had been made in the HSE in 2007.

Labour health spokeswoman Jan O'Sullivansaid that Ms Harney had told her, in a parliamentary reply, that her department had written to the HSE board stating that bonus payments should be suspended pending the issue of further guidelines from central government.

She understood, she said, that the decision had been made after that letter was written in May.

Ms O’Sullivan said that the Government should issue an order to the HSE board stating that the bonus should not be paid.

“This is a very important public matter because there is absolute outrage in regard to it,” she added.

“Some €1.2 billion is being taken out of the health services budget this year.” She warned that the matter would cause enormous public unrest when health cuts were proposed.

Sinn Féin's Aengus Ó Snodaighcalled for amending legislation to end the practice of self-assessed performance-related bonuses, not only for the CEO but also for hospital managers, given their failure in recent years.

In a statement, Mr Ó Snodaigh said that Prof Drumm should be ashamed to look for a bonus when sick children were having urgent operations cancelled.

“It symbolises everything that is rotten with this State,” he added.