An internal audit by the HSE has confirmed that the awarding of successive contracts to a management consultancy, Starline, by the Limerick Hospitals Group was non-compliant with EU tender regulations and the HSE’s own financial regulations.

IMPACT members working at the Limerick Hospitals Group commenced industrial action last July in opposition to the payment of a €250,000 annual fee to Starline for a chief operations manager. The union described the payments to the management consultancy as excessive and unwarranted.

IMPACT official Andy Pike explained “The HSE wrote to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) in October, prompted by questions raised by IMPACT regarding the probity of engaging the firm to pay for the salary of one individual. The HSE’s admission that its own financial regulations were breached, and that the process also breached EU rules, vindicates IMPACT’s position that the use of a management consultant was inappropriate” he said.

An issue also arose in which the chief operations manager procured the services of a company of which he was a former director and current shareholder.

Andy explained that IMPACT is making contact with the head of the HSE National Hospitals Office and the chair of the PAC to request that the full audit report be placed on the public record. The HSE has, so far, only published a brief summary of selected findings.

Andy added, “We also need to know if the HSE now intends to pursue the reimbursement of payments to Starline that breached regulations and we have called for an independent investigation into how these breaches took place.”

Andy said that the current industrial action will remain in place until the contract with Starline is terminated.