€11m paid to HSE staff on long-term sick leave
Fine Gael is calling on the Minister for Health to make a full statement on the extent of long-term sick leave in the HSE.
The call follows the release of figures showing that more than €11m has been paid to 147 existing employees who have been on sick leave for more than six months.
One of these employees has been on leave since 2003 and has received more than €1.3m in that period.
Another has been on leave for the past 13 years and has received almost €300,000 in pay during that period.
€8m of the total figure for sick leave is going to just 41 workers who have been on paid leave since 2007 or earlier.
Fine Gael health spokesperson Dr James Reilly says the situation raises questions about why frontline services are being cut back when large sums of money are still being wasted in the health service.
