PAC calls for HSE to find mechanism to pay Console contract workers

At today’s meeting of the Public Accounts Committee, Members discussed payments owed to staff and contracted staff of the charity Console which is now in liquidation.

Correspondence from the liquidator and the Department of Health indicate that 58 staff who provided services on a contract basis are unsecured creditors and unlikely to receive monies owed to them.

Committee Chairman Seán Fleming, TD said: “While there may be no legal responsibility on behalf of the Department or the Health Service Executive to pay these monies, given the weaknesses in oversight of the charity by the HSE and delays in dealing with matters in Console, there is a moral responsibility to find a way to ensure that those who worked on behalf of Console to deliver important services to help prevent suicide, should not be at a loss. The PAC is calling on the HSE to find a mechanism, by means of an ex-gratia payment or otherwise, to ensure that these people are paid for the valuable work they carried out. We will be writing to both the HSE and the Department of Health over the coming week to ask them to reconsider their approach to this matter..”

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