HSE staff spent thousands on tips, trips and calls

BACKROOM HSE staff spent thousands of euro in taxpayers’ money on flowers, candlesticks, hotels, foreign trips, restaurant tips and phone calls — including some from abroad by people allegedly on sick leave.

The financial waste was uncovered as part of a health service internal probe into the HSE Employers Agency. Documents seen by the Irish Examiner confirm the group — which implemented health service HR improvements until it was subsumed into the HR directorate last year — failed to address a series of financial issues between 2006 and 2009.

Among the main findings of the investigation, based on sample records, are: