CHI boss 'not at liberty' to discuss settlement with former chief executive Eilish Hardiman, PAC told

The Dáil Public Accounts Committee heard on Thursday a 'formal settlement' was agreed with Eilish Hardiman when she left her post, though few specifics were offered as to the rationale for that settlement being made. Picture: Brian Lawless/PA Wire

Children’s Health Ireland (CHI) paid an undisclosed settlement to its former chief executive Eilish Hardiman when she left her post last year, despite her contract having come to an end.

The Dáil Public Accounts Committee (PAC) heard on Thursday a “formal settlement” was agreed with Ms Hardiman when she left her post, though few specifics were offered as to the rationale for that settlement being made.

Ms Hardiman, who had been at the head of CHI since its inception, left her role after then health minister Stephen Donnelly last year declined to approve her retention for a third five-year term, amid a year of controversy at the organisation.

She was subsequently retained in a new strategic role at CHI and continued to receive an equivalent salary of at least €177,000 to that she had received as chief executive.

Under questioning from the committee’s new vice-chair Paul McAuliffe, CHI’s new chief executive Lucy Stewart repeatedly said she was “not trying to be evasive” in not answering questions regarding the settlement, as it both preceded her own time at CHI and is also the subject of a non-disclosure agreement.

Mr McAuliffe disputed this, saying while the settlement itself may be confidential, the board decision and rationale to approve it should not be.

“I’m at a loss to know why there was a need to enter into discussions at the end of a fixed-term period if there was to be no new appointment,” he said.

“If it was a fixed-term contract, why did a liability result?” he asked. 

Why did we spend public money on this? Why did a settlement arise?

Ms Stewart said she “wasn’t there” when the decision was made. She said she was "not at liberty to discuss” the matter.

She did expand on why the board had chosen to retain Ms Hardiman in her new role of strategic programme director, saying the board had felt the change in leadership was coming at “a critical time” for CHI, and it would be “important to retain the knowledge” of the previous chief executive.

Ms Stewart had begun her testimony at the hearing by professing the organisation to be “deeply and unreservedly sorry” for some children having had non-medical devices inserted into their bodies during spinal surgery, adding “what happened should not have happened and children should have been protected from harm”.

Separately, chief officer of the National Paedriatic Health Development Board David Gunning gave a firm “no” when asked if he had faith in the main contractor for the delivery of Ireland’s €2.2bn National Children’s Hospital.

The PAC heard Bam was now working towards its 15 th new completion timeline for the marquee hospital project, with the current best-case scenario for that completion being September 30 of this year.

However, Mr Gunning said he had received a new programme of works on the project from Bam on Wednesday evening, which is currently being “interrogated” to understand what impact it would have on timelines.

He said of €800m worth of claims made by Bam with regard to extensions of time to the project, the National Paedriatic Health Development Board — which holds overall statutory responsibility for the construction of the hospital — accepts the contractor was entitled to just €50m of those.

One outstanding claim has seen Bam told by a conciliator it is owed €122.2m by the board over “critical delay events” relating to the build, a figure which has been disputed by the board and which has since been escalated to the High Court by the contractor.

Mr Gunning, asked if he understood the anger of the public regarding the repeated delays to the hospital build, said “our frustration and anger is equivalent, I can absolutely assure you”.