HSE staff get €166m in allowances in 2011
More than €166m in allowances was paid to Health Service Executive staff last year, according to figures put before the Public Accounts Committee today.
The money accounted for 2.6% of the HSE's total pay bill in 2011.
Forty-one separate allowances are being paid to health sector workers, with some dating back to the 1970s.
The HSE Director General Designate revealed the figures before the Public Accounts Committee today and the HSE estimates that almost 37,000 staff are now in receipt of allowances.
