More than 20 HSE staff earned in excess of €400,000 in 2020, one staff member taking home between €640,000 and €650,000.
As the Irish Examiner reports, the figures show that the highest earners in the HSE are consultants, with 23 paid more than €400,000 in basic salary, overtime, and allowances.
However, their take-home pay is far higher than that, once pension allowances and private earnings are factored in.
The HSE said that while salary scales for consultants top out at around €309,000, staff are paid overtime and allowances.
“With the exception of the chief executive, the staff referenced are clinical staff who would also be in receipt of extra allowances such as overtime, on-call time, expenses, etc,” it said.
Much has been made of the €411,000 salary of HSE CEO Paul Reid, the highest-paid non-medical member of staff, but the figures released to Sinn Féin health spokesman David Cullinane, broken down by pay band, show that at least 15 people earned more than Mr Reid did in 2020. Of those:
Four earned between €420,000 and €430,000;
Two earned €440,000 to €450,000;
Two earned €450,000 to €460,000;
Three earned €480,000 to €490,000;
One received between €490,000 and €500,000;
One earned from €490,000 and €500,000;
There was one in the next band, and one earning from €590,000 to €600,000;
A lone employee pocketed €640,000 to €650,000.
Putting the figures into perspective, the average nursing salary is between €35,000 and €40,000.
The HSE said the information is “sourced from the HSE annual financial statements and is for HSE statutory services only”, so does not refer to work carried out in private capacities.
Mr Cullinane said it was important to interrogate how people were able to earn such high figures in the public sector
“I’m astounded that it appears that 23 people are on over €400,000,” he said. “We need to understand where this money is coming from. My understanding was that that highest-paid member of the HSE would have been the CEO, but that is not the case.
