HSE chief executive second appointment
Deputy Burton questioned whether the HSE chief executive’s second board appointment in California was ethical or permitted under public standards rules. The Minister said the contract allowed sanctioned outside work, noted the director general had taken leave, and said he would revert on the SIPO question.
Does the Tánaiste consider it to be ethical, practical or good management to allow the chief executive officer of the HSE to take a lucrative second appointment to a health company board in California? Do any of the provisions of the Standards in Public Office Act 2001 or other ethics legislation or public service codes of conduct apply to the CEO or is he exempt from such requirements? At a time women are hurting-----
Comment on this
We hear about the gig economy but it is extraordinary to most women that the CEO would have been allowed by the Minister for Health or his predecessor to take a second lucrative appointment-----
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-----when it is a big enough job to run the HSE.
Comment on this
The contract of the director general who was appointed during the previous Fine Gael-Labour Party Government allows him to take up employment where the Minister sanctions it. This was employment of less than five hours a month but, rightly, considering the important issues the Deputy highlighted for women's health and the need for him to focus on that exclusively for the remaining few weeks of his term, he has appropriately taken a leave of absence from it.
With regard to the question regarding SIPO, I will revert to the Deputy directly.
Comment on this
The employment was sanctioned within days of the Minister taking up office. It is very strange.