Bribery claims probed at eight hospitals

Eight hospitals, five of them taxpayer-funded, are under investigation amid claims staff got gifts from a medical supplies firm in return for contracts and commercially sensitive information.

Three employees, two from the publicly-funded St Vincent’s University Hospital and one at the private Beacon Hospital, are on paid leave since allegations about their dealings with Eurosurgical medical supplies were revealed in an RTÉ Prime Time investigation.

However, Health Minister Leo Varadkar has confirmed that he received a dossier on seven hospitals last year, excluding one highlighted by Prime Time, and that he shared it with the minister for justice, HSE, and gardaí.