Results 421-440 of 1,067,866 for in 'Dáil debates' OR in 'Committee meetings' (speaker:Tom Kitt OR speaker:Éamon Ó Cuív OR speaker:Mairead Farrell OR speaker:Pádraig Mac Lochlainn OR speaker:Bernard Durkan OR speaker:Anne Rabbitte OR speaker:Éamon Ó Cuív04)

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2023: Health Service Executive (24 Oct 2024)

Catherine Murphy: I, too, picked up on the overtime payment and wonder how it happened. During a weekend night call-out in 2023, the employee was paid a rate of six hours' pay per patient for each of the four patients treated in a single period of 60 minutes. That same point was made by Deputy Kelly. It cost in excess of €2,800 for the call, which is an extraordinary amount. I can see the HSE's...

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2023: Health Service Executive (24 Oct 2024)

Catherine Murphy: This situation happens when the consultant is called in to a hospital, I presume, to see patients and there is nobody else to cover that. This person would have come in and seen four patients, and that is essentially how it happened.

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2023: Health Service Executive (24 Oct 2024)

Catherine Murphy: The second item I want to deal with - I hope I will be able to come back in on a few other matters later - relates to the settlement of the employment case. This cropped up in the C and AG's report. It jumped out to us. I understand that there is a mediated situation and that this constrains what can be said. The settlement comprised €1.37 million for a loss of potential private...

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2023: Health Service Executive (24 Oct 2024)

Catherine Murphy: It is astronomical. It really is-----

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2023: Health Service Executive (24 Oct 2024)

Catherine Murphy: -----and it indicates that the power was all on one side here. I asked a question some time ago about the contractor that is building the national children's hospital and contracts over the past ten years for the same entity. There were seven of them, totalling €93 million, in different locations. What was the profile for looking at how they had worked out and whether they were on...

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2023: Health Service Executive (24 Oct 2024)

Catherine Murphy: That is general, however.

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2023: Health Service Executive (24 Oct 2024)

Catherine Murphy: Will Mr. Gloster please do that and revert to us?

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2023: Health Service Executive (24 Oct 2024)

Catherine Murphy: I will probably not be here for the response but the committee will receive it.

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2023: Health Service Executive (24 Oct 2024)

Mairead Farrell: Go raibh maith agat. I am conscious of time. I will allow everyone come back in for five minutes. I will take an Teachta Carthy. Then we will take our break and take a second round.

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2023: Health Service Executive (24 Oct 2024)

Mairead Farrell: Beidh mise mar an chéad cainteoir eile. One issue that has annoyed me for some time, even previously in my role as a city councillor on Galway City Council, is that of agency spend. We have seen that it has gone from a spend of €350 million to €650 million in a four to five year period. If we look at that trend and the figures that we had up until August, it seems that...

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2023: Health Service Executive (24 Oct 2024)

Mairead Farrell: I understand that is the aim but the reality is, when we look at the figures, they do not correspond to what the aim is.

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2023: Health Service Executive (24 Oct 2024)

Mairead Farrell: If the HSE wants to reduce it then holding it steady is not equating to the aim.

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2023: Health Service Executive (24 Oct 2024)

Mairead Farrell: How long does Mr. Gloster think that will take to have an impact?

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2023: Health Service Executive (24 Oct 2024)

Mairead Farrell: Does Mr. Gloster think it could have an impact on this year?

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2023: Health Service Executive (24 Oct 2024)

Mairead Farrell: Before quarter 3 of last year. When does Mr. Gloster expect it to be at 2019 levels or does he not see that at all?

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2023: Health Service Executive (24 Oct 2024)

Mairead Farrell: For some time. I can see from the spend on the management and administration that the HSE has gone from €29 million to €86 million in those areas. One of the frustrations for people - and it is not always a frustration that is based on facts, it can be based on experience and we have heard quite powerfully from an Teachta Cannon his own experience of getting the piece of paper...

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2023: Health Service Executive (24 Oct 2024)

Mairead Farrell: Mr. Gloster stated that he had a staff of approximately 166,000. There is considerable frustration about agency spend in general, particularly given that there are many people who want to get good jobs in the HSE. This expenditure on agency and management and administration basically represents a trebling of the previous amount. Why has it increased to this level in such a short period?

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2023: Health Service Executive (24 Oct 2024)

Mairead Farrell: But this is €86 million.

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2023: Health Service Executive (24 Oct 2024)

Mairead Farrell: Covid was an exceptional time,-----