Former HSE chief executive Paul Reid has said consulting firm EY has raised the possibility of him doing external advisory work with them but “there has been no commitment made on either side.”
Mr Reid clarified his position after reports emerged saying that he was due to take up an advisory role with the firm next year.
In a statement to The Irish Times, Mr Reid said: “This is to clarify that I have not joined EY consulting and have no contractual or professional relationship with them.”
He added: “They have raised with me the possibility of doing some external advisory work with them in the future but there has been no commitment made on either side.”
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The former HSE boss said that his “immediate priority is to commit some time to family. I will consider in time any appropriate future professional possibilities as they arise next year.”
Mr Reid finished up in the health service at the end of last month.
“Paul Reid may be involved in advisory work with some EY clients next year,” a spokeswoman for EY Ireland said on Wednesday. “Details on which clients or what projects are not yet confirmed.”
EY provides consulting, assurance, tax and transaction services to clients. Mr Reid previously defended his decision to leave his HSE post early, as the health service prepares for what it expects will be another very difficult winter.
Mr Reid’s successor will be appointed following a public competition and international search, he said last month, leaving the organisation without a permanent chief executive until at least the new year.
The Dubliner, who was chief executive of the HSE for three years, said last month he had given “everything I possibly can” to the role.
“I don’t think my loyalty can be challenged. People have to make personal assessments of their career at different stages, that’s exactly where I am now. I don’t feel I’ve left anything behind me. I don’t feel I’ve let anybody down,” he said.
The 58-year-old said he did not plan to retire and had nothing planned for the future other than to spend more time with his family. “There’s nothing in the pipeline,” he added.
Mr Reid’s exit follows that of Dr Ronan Glynn, the former deputy chief medical officer, and the retirement of Dr Tony Holohan, the chief medical officer, as the HSE moves to fill vacancies.
Under the Regulation of Lobbying Act 2015, certain designated public officials are restricted from being engaged in lobbying in certain circumstances for a year after they leave their employment or office.
EY advised the HSE during Covid-19, with the health service paying it close to €18 million during the first year of the pandemic for services that included work on the contact tracing programme. Niamh O’Beirne, a partner with EY, was seconded to the HSE during the pandemic to help manage the HSE’s testing and contact tracing programme.
