Madam, – According to the BBC, the UK NHS chief executive David Nicholson is paid £260,000, (circa €312,000). Cathal Magee, who is to take over as CEO of the HSE will apparently be paid a salary of €322,000 (Front page, May 29th).
Yes, both men have very responsible jobs. One is responsible for a health care budget of billions, and the health care of over 60 million people, and for the administration of one of the world’s largest free-at-point-of-delivery health care services, which admittedly has its problems.
The other is also responsible for a large health care budget, in a small European country of just over 4.4 million people and managing a health care service in which a large part of the population rely on private health insurance and a national health service which is not, to our national shame, free at point of delivery.
Could the Minister of Health please explain the differential in the two salaries and how we arrived at this juncture? – Yours, etc,