Tánaiste Micheál Martin has said he has “concerns” about revelations that two companies that received more than €1.5 million in contracts awarded by University Hospital Limerick (UHL) without a competitive procurement process were owned or part-owned by employees at the facility.
Mr Martin said there had to be “very clear demarcation lines and separation in terms of any companies that people are involved in and the procurement side”. He said there also had to be “full transparency and avoidance of any conflict of interest”.
Speaking on Tuesday, he said there should “further probing” of the issues that were set out in a HSE internal audit report. He said a “proper explanation and clarification” was needed in relation to the audit findings.
HSE chief executive Bernard Gloster on Tuesday said he had sought audits to be carried out at hospitals in Limerick, Galway and Tallaght after he was appointed to look at how they were achieving reductions in waiting lists and on the best use of public money.
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“In the case of the report [on Limerick] it points to very significant procurement challenges. We are constantly addressing those and will address those,” he said.
The HSE did not answer questions submitted by The Irish Times on whether it would be looking again at the practice of engaging staff in a private capacity as part of initiatives to reduce waiting lists, as suggested by the internal auditors.
Mr Gloster is scheduled to appear at an Oireachtas committee hearing on Wednesday where he is likely to face questions on the internal audit findings.
The Irish Times reported this week that €14.2 million was paid out to third-party providers by UHL in 2023 under a Government initiative to reduce waiting lists without an open competitiveness procurement process.
Auditors said that management at the University of Limerick Hospital Group confirmed it had no dedicated procurement function.
The audit said one contract for €714,087 and a second for €919,885 had gone to separate companies which had a director who were staff members at the Limerick hospital at the time the work was undertaken.
Internal auditors also found that a third company that received a contract of nearly €400,000 had a HSE employee at a different hospital as a director.
Auditors said there was no evidence of the HSE employees being involved in the awarding of the contracts.
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