Probe under way as Dail told consultants are creating private companies to divert public patients from waiting lists

Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín criticized the €14.2 million payments to private firms, alleging a major conflict of interest in the public health system. He highlighted a case where a consultant used hospital waiting lists to benefit his private firm. He insisted that such practices cannot continue, emphasizing the need for transparency. In response, Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill confirmed an investigation into private firm usage by the Health Service Executive (HSE), pausing all non-essential insourcing activities until further audit assessments are complete, signaling a move to uphold integrity in the public system.

The Minister must admit that we cannot allow anybody on the public payroll to be in a position where they are creating a private company and funnelling public work to their own private company.

It is an incredible situation and a major conflict of interest for anybody in a public role to be doing this in relation to their own businesses.

At the request of the Minister for Health, the Health Service Executive (HSE) CEO, Bernard Gloster, initiated a detailed survey of all insourcing activity within the HSE.

We are actually hearing of this happening in real time at the moment. Hospitals have work coming at them at a fierce rate.

Read at Irish Independent