Not only does this raise questions for Revenue about the taxation of these gifts, it also raises further serious questions for the Master of the Rotunda
Representatives of the Rotunda hospital should return to the Oireachtas Health Committee to answer questions about the gifting of fees to consultants to deliver babies, according to Social Democrats health spokesperson Pádraig Rice.
Deputy Rice, who is chair of the Oireachtas Health Committee, said:
“Today’s Irish Independent has revealed that there are further issues about the implementation of the public-only consultant contact at the Rotunda.
“If consultants on the public-only contracts are working at the weekend, and are involved in the delivery of the babies of private patients, they are routinely gifted with sums of up to €1,500 by consultants contracted to do that private work.
“As far as we know, this is a practice that is confined to the Rotunda and doesn’t happen at Dublin’s other maternity hospitals because of the way rosters are managed.
“Not only does this raise questions for Revenue about the taxation of these gifts, it also raises further serious questions for the Master of the hospital, Seán Daly, and the Board.
“A spokesperson for the Rotunda told the Irish Independent that this arrangement was “personal to the consultants and the hospital is not involved”.
“Given these women are giving birth in the Rotunda and attended by consultants who are employed by the Rotunda and rostered to be there by the Rotunda, this statement is brazen.
“It is particularly tone-deaf given the hospital went to great lengths to facilitate breaches of the public-only contract on the purported basis that their position of employer trumped any other clause in the contract. However, when it comes to this issue, the hospital is clearly trying to wash their hands of any involvement,
“I have now written to the Oireachtas Health Committee to suggest that we invite the Master of the Rotunda, and members of the Board, back into the Committee to answer questions about all of this.
“The hospital is not the only one with questions to answer about this mess. On Tuesday, Social Democrats party leader Holly Cairns asked the Taoiseach if he had any further concerns about the operation of the public-only contract in hospitals and he failed to answer.
“The Taoiseach and the Health Minister should now clarify if they were aware of this latest issue with the Rotunda and if there are any other revelations to come about the hospital’s implementation of the public-only contract.”