I propose to take Questions Nos. 27 and 66 together.
Voluntary organisations in a variety of service areas within the health service are funded by the Health Service Executive under either Section 38 or 39 of the Health Act 2004.
Organisations funded under Section 38 of the Act provide health or personal social services on behalf of the HSE. Staff in these organisations are considered public servants and the standard rates of remuneration for the public health sector apply to these agencies. Service Level Agreements between the HSE and such bodies require compliance with the salary scales concerned.
A review by the Health Service Executive in 2011 found some instances where the standard rates of pay for the public health service were not being applied in bodies funded under Section 38 of the 2004 Act. This had occurred across a number of grades of staff and it also included a small number of CEOs. These issues are being pursued up by the HSE with the bodies concerned.
Other organisations may receive grants from the HSE under Section 39 of the Health Act 2004 to provide a service similar or ancillary to a service that the HSE may provide. Staff in such independent organisations are not public servants and are not specifically subject to the pay scales approved for public servants.
Our Lady's Hospice is funded under Section 38 of the Health Act 2004, while St. Francis Hospice and Marymount Hospice are grant-aided under Section 39 of the Act.
