Costs of search for HSE chief top €200,000

THE Health Service Executive (HSE) has spent at least €200,000 of taxpayers’ money on two unsuccessful attempts to recruit a chief executive.

That figure could rise above €300,000 if the HSE is forced to return to the market place for a third time, which seems increasingly likely if the reports that they will not select a candidate from an existing shortlist are true.

A spokesperson for the HSE said the successful recruitment of a candidate was the priority, not the amount spent in doing so.

"In recruiting a chief executive officer for the Health Service Executive, the focus of our attention is getting the right candidate. Of course cost is an issue, but not a preoccupation."

The recruitment process began in March 2004.

The total cost for the initial bid was in the region of €80,000, excluding 21% VAT, which brings the figure to about €100,000.

This includes professional fees to recruitment agents PricewaterhouseCoopers, advertising and candidate expenses.

As a result of the first search, Professor Aidan Halligan, deputy medical director of the British NHS, was selected and his appointment was announced last September. However, he withdrew in November.

The spokesperson for the HSE said figures for the second search which led to the selection of Professor Brendan Drumm, professor of paediatrics at University College Dublin are unavailable "but we would expect that they would be similar".

Prof Drumm, whose appointment was announced in April, withdrew from the job this week.

The HSE spokesperson said costs in relation to a third competition to find a chief have not yet arisen because no commitments have been made.

Despite the fact that the HSE is without a chief executive, plans for the chief executives of the country's former 11 health boards to step down on June 15 are going ahead.

It is intended that the responsibility and accountability for the delivery of the health services will be transferred to the HSE national directors on that date.

However, there are at present four vacancies at director level including human resources, information and communications technology, strategic planning and development and corporate affairs.