The "much-reduced" salary in Ireland compared with Australia was too much of a financial challenge for him, according to the doctor who stepped down suddenly last month from his post in charge of public hospitals.

Dr Tony O’Connell, who came to Ireland from Australia last year, resigned unexpectedly as the Health Service Executive’s (HSE) national director for acute hospitals on January 5th. He had been less than nine months in the post, one of the most senior in the health service.

It was reported at the time Dr O’Connell wanted to return to Australia where his wife had secured a senior academic post.

In his short resignation letter sent to head of the HSE Tony O’Brien, Dr O’Connell said his wife had been appointed to an academic position at an Australian university “and I wish to return to Australia to pursue other employment opportunities”.

Financial challenge

He added: “I have found the much-reduced take-home salary in my current position, compared to other positions I have held in Australia, too much of a financial challenge.”

In the letter, which had not been disclosed until now, he wished Mr O’Brien well in leading “this stressed system”.

Dr O’Connell held the post of HSE national director level 1, which has a salary of €147,549.

Salaries for senior posts in the HSE and for similar positions in other parts of the public service were reduced under the Haddington Road agreement on pay and productivity in July 2013.

Dr O'Connell, who is a specialist in intensive care medicine, is a former director general of the Queensland public health system.

Initial position

He initially came to Ireland in March 2014 to take up a position as head of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland group of public hospitals, which are mainly based on the north side of Dublin and the northeast of the country. They include Beaumont, Connolly and the Rotunda hospitals .

However, within a couple of months he was appointed as overall head of public hospitals following a shake-up of senior management within the HSE.

Late last year he was appointed as chairman of the emergency department task force which was established to tackle the problem of overcrowding and patients having to wait for lengthy periods on trolleys prior to admission to a hospital bed.

Last month the number of patients on trolleys in emergency departments reached record levels.