Former HSE CEO Paul Reid will receive a daily allowance for his new role as chair of the Citizens’ Assembly on Drug Use.
He was appointed to the role by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar just four months after leaving his €420,000 a year job in the HSE.
It comes amid anger in some quarters of Government that Mr Reid was appointed to the role, with several TDs telling the Irish Mirror that it looked like a case of “jobs for the boys”.
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Mr Reid became one of the leading figureheads of the Government’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic. He left his role as head of the HSE in October 2022. His salary while in this position was €420,000 per year.
A spokesperson for the Citizens’ Assembly confirmed that Mr Reid will be remunerated for the position as chairman.
They said: “As per the Terms of Reference for the Citizens’ Assembly as agreed by the Houses of the Oireachtas last week, the Assembly will make payment of an honorarium to the Chairperson at a per diem rate to be sanctioned by the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform.”
However, they were unable to confirm how much the per diem rate would be or how many days the Assembly is expected to sit.
A Government spokesperson described the payment as an "optional stipend" but could not confirm if he would take the payment.
One senior minister told the Irish Mirror that Mr Reid’s pay for the role was not discussed at the weekly Cabinet meeting. They added that it was also not confirmed to ministers whether or not he would be paid.
Several members of the Government criticised Mr Reid’s appointment as chair of the Citizens’ Assembly on Tuesday.
Green Party TD Patrick Costello told the Irish Mirror that it was a “terrible decision” and a “missed opportunity”.
He said: “We could have had someone creative. We could have had someone inspiring for the members of the assembly.
“We could have had someone who was on the outside of the issue to bring fresh thinking, who wasn’t in charge of delivery of services.
“It is important to have [expertise] in the room. That is the point of having briefings and experts.”
A number of TDs in Government parties told the Irish Mirror that it “had a stink of jobs for the boys”. They argued that either community leaders or those from a legal background would have been better placed to do the job.
“People are not going to trust Paul Reid. They are going to have preconceived ideas of him and of the HSE.
“He won’t have the trust of a lot of people in the room.”
Another TD said that it “seems to be the same heads over and over again” that are appointed to roles.
They said: “[Mr Reid] is part of the establishment. He brings a lot of high-profile baggage with him.
“There were a lot of other choices. I was shocked.
“A lot of people are saying, ‘jobs for the boys’.”
Mr Reid tweeted that he was “extremely privileged to be appointed by An Taoiseach as Independent Chairperson of the Citizens' Assembly on Drug Use”.
“Like many, I've witnessed the devastating impact of drug use in our communities.”
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