One member of HSE staff received almost €1 million in salary last year as the HSE’s pay bill surged by €730 million or 11 per cent to €7.16 billion.
That is according to the 2022 HSE annual report which shows that eight HSE staff received between €500,000 and €980,000 in pay last year.
The top earner received between €970,001 and €980,000 in 2022.
The report also discloses that former HSE chief Paul Reid received €399,182 for 11 months work last year.
Mr Reid stepped down from his post on December 1st. His package last year was made up of basic pay of €339,549, allowances of €45,838 and benefit in kind (BIK) of €13,795.
HSE chief financial officer Stephen Mulvany served as acting chief executive from October 3rd last year and received €90,379 for his acting role to the end of December.
The accounts show that the HSE last year recorded a deficit of €185.16 million as its overall spend increased by €1.7 billion, or 8 per cent, rising from €21.64 billion to €23.36 billion.
The €185.16 million deficit for last year included a €195.03 million deficit brought forward from 2021.
The figures show that the numbers earning over €100,000 at the HSE last year increased by 808, from 3,982 to 4,790.
Along with the eight earning over €500,000, a further 352 earned between €500,000 and €250,000; 859 between €200,000 and €250,000; 977 earned between €150,000 and €200,000; and 2,594 earned between €100,000 and €150,000.
The accounts disclose that an internal audit carried a detailed review of all employees whose earnings were in the pay band of €300,000 and higher in 2021.
It states that "a follow up review will be taking place again on 2022 expenditure. Internal Audit’s review identified some instances where payments made to these consultants were inconsistent with policy.
"The review also identified potential internal control gaps around payments made to these consultants under local hospital arrangements".
The note states that a high-level plan sets out a series of actions to improve the control environment and provides an indicative timeline for delivery.
In his report, the Comptroller and Auditor General Seamus McCarthy noted that the HSE Executive is implementing an action plan to address the issues identified around the high earners.
The report discloses that the HSE received Department of Health funding of €2 billion in 2022 to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic.
The report reveals that the HSE has incurred an overall write-down of Covid-19 vaccine stocks of €94.4 million.
The write-off for expiry are based on stocks that are out of date as at the end of December and those that are due to be out of date or no longer considered to have utility in the programme during 2023.
On the Covid-19 spend last year, the PPE spend was €146 million; the spend on Covid-19 Vaccination Programme totalled €425 million; Covid-19 testing and tracing at €408 million; the costs of securing private hospital capacity at €173 million; Acute Hospital and Community Covid-19 costs at €598 million and an overall €208 million cost attached to the Pandemic Special Recognition Payment.
The HSE's pension bill last year increased from €811.37 million to €898.07 million, made up of €158.98 million in one-off lump sum and gratuity payments and €739 million in ongoing pension payments.
The HSE's overtime bill increased from €240.33 million to €276.57 million as its agency bill rose from €568.45 million to €619.5 million.
The amount paid to HSE and agency staff in the Pandemic Special Recognition Payment totalled €99.15 million, made up of €85.88 million paid to HSE staff and €13.26 million paid to agency staff.
Numbers employed by the HSE last year increased by 3,719 from 85,508 to 89,227.
The HSE's legal and professional bill last year increased from €197.98 million to €224.29 million.
