Whistleblower writes to Stephen Donnelly over 'extraordinary waste' within health service

Shane Corr said Department of Health staff privately admitted there was 'extraordinary waste' within the health system, waste which was 'contributing to bad patient outcomes and death, particularly during times of crisis'. File picture: RTÉ Investigates/RTÉ

A Department of Health whistleblower who was formerly the subject of disciplinary action by the body has formally requested a protected disclosure process due to what he says are ongoing “poor practices” within the health system.

Shane Corr, an auditor with the department’s finance section, came to public notice after a series of disclosures to media organisations detailing alleged irregularities in terms of health budgeting and expenditure, together with an exposé of the manner in which the department gathered data on the plaintiffs in court cases involving autistic children.

In a letter to Health Minister Stephen Donnelly last month, Mr Corr said he remained “very concerned” that breaches of public financial procedures and the public spending code continued to lead “to extraordinary financial losses to the exchequer”, together with “sub-par outcomes for many patients across the system”.

“I am writing again to ask for a protected disclosures process so that I can provide you with the evidence that inform my concerns,” Mr Corr said, adding a further request for “guidance” as to how he might participate in the Government’s pending review of the State’s covid-19 response.

He said Department of Health staff privately admitted there was “extraordinary waste” within the health system, waste which was “contributing to bad patient outcomes and death, particularly during times of crisis”.

In response to those requests, the Department of Health referred Mr Corr’s approach to the Commissioner for Protected Disclosures — the body charged with identifying the most appropriate body and organisation to deal with such sensitive revelations.

The commission’s decision was that the most appropriate adjudicator regarding any protected disclosure by Mr Corr should be the head of the Department of Health, secretary general Robert Watt.

Previously, Mr Corr was the subject of a two-year disciplinary process and investigation in the wake of several of his prior revelations, instigated by Mr Watt and predicated on the fact recordings had been taken by Mr Corr of internal meetings within the department without the attendees’ knowledge.

That process, which saw Mr Corr suspended on full pay for its duration, concluded earlier this year with the decision Mr Corr had no case to answer and could resume his duties at the department.

However, while he remains employed within the civil service, Mr Corr has not returned to the Department of Health.

In last October’s budget, the Department of Public Expenditure authorised a punitive health budget some €1.3bn short of what had been requested on the back of several years of massive budget overruns by the HSE.

That budgetary shortfall led directly to a recruitment freeze being put in place by HSE chief executive Bernard Gloster, a situation which has yet to be reversed.

In the wake of the budget, Mr Gloster said the HSE would likely face a further cost overrun of “close to €1bn” in 2024 given the level of funding it had been allocated.