HSE boss Paul Reid was “mulling” over resigning from his position for sometime and was “firm” with Health Minister Stephen Donnelly with his decision.
Senior sources have said Mr Reid’s decision to step away in December from the role was solely due to wanting to spend time with his family.
Tension had built between Minister Donnelly and Mr Reid in recent days after Mr Reid said plans to reconfigure the Emergency Department at Our Lady's Hospital Navan will proceed, despite a request from Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly to put them on hold.
Read More: HSE CEO Paul Reid to step down later this year
Mr Reid said that "it would be a mistake" for the Minister to use his powers under Section 10 of the Health Act to direct the Health Service Executive to call a halt to its plans.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin was adamant that the issue with Navan hospital did not contribute to Mr Reid’s resignation.
Senior sources close to Mr Reid said he has been thinking about stepping away from the job and discussions were tight with his family for some time.
A source said: “Paul wouldn’t leave a job due to tensions with anyone, he is stronger than that and that is not something that would force him to leave.
“He has been mulling over the idea for some time and is just at a different stage in his life now.”
Sources said Mr Reid had set Monday aside to make the announcement and to speak to colleagues.
He is stepping down more than two years before his €411,777-a-year contract ends.
His appearance on RTÉ’s This Week programme over the weekend in which he said the HSE would push ahead with the reconfiguration at Navan hospital was planned in advance and was “bad timing.”
It’s understood Mr Reid plans to continue to express the HSE should continue with their plan for Navan hospital.
A source said: “This shouldn’t be about political backlash for the politicians, this is about people’s lives.”
Sources also said that Mr Reid was “firm” in his decision with Minister Donnelly and the chairman of the HSE Board “and didn’t leave them any room to try and persuade him to stay” and he felt now “was the right time to move on.”
Mr Reid, who moved to Carrick-On-Shannon in Co Leitrim just before the Covid-19 pandemic hit, has a son and granddaughter in Austin, Texas in which he is hoping to visit more often.
In his statement, Mr Reid said he has no job lined up when he will leave the post in six months’ time.
Sources said “he has nothing in the pipeline, he is not retiring but whatever job he goes for in the future, it will be one with greater flexibility where he can spend more time with his family.”
Mr Reid has been a public servant since 2011 - he spent three years working in the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, five years as county manager of Fingal County Council before taking up his current CEO role in the HSE, three years ago.
It's understood he expressed in recent times how he was studying five nights a week when his children were growing up and subsequently he had a number of several senior jobs which took from family time.
In a statement, Mr Reid said he was quitting to spend more time with his family and said it was his "belief that the HSE was entering a new phase and that the appointment of a new leader was now timely".
In a message to staff, Mr Reid said he was making the decision with a heavy heart, and that it was the hardest career decision he had made.
He said: "Having previously worked in the private, not for profit, central and local government sectors, working in the HSE has been by far the greatest period in my career.
"It has been truly rewarding leading an organisation whose staff come to work every day to make people's lives better.
"No organisation will ever match the commitment, dedication and relentless willingness to go beyond the call of duty that I have witnessed as we battled multiple waves of Covid, a criminal cyber attack while driving a significant reform agenda.
"This has been truly inspirational for me to experience."
Taoiseach Micheál Martin phoned Mr Reid on Monday morning after the HSE boss texted him to share the news.
Mr Martin said: “He was very clear to me that essentially he's been reflecting lately, given all the pressures, in terms of giving more time to his family.
He paid tribute to Mr Reid and said he was always available 24/7.
He told reporters at Dublin Castle: “I just have to say that I understand fully the reasons he has given, which are personal and again, he’s not moving anywhere fast.
“He's here for the rest of the year, and will be working on a range of issues.”
Health Minister Stephen Donnelly also paid tribute to Mr Reid stating he led Ireland’s health service through some of its most difficult days and has done so with dedication and professionalism.
He added: “Throughout the pandemic, Paul played a critical role in leading Ireland’s response to the greatest health emergency of our times.
“He leaves behind him an organisation much enhanced for his time as chief executive and one that is already making real progress in implementing reform and improvement across many aspects of healthcare provision.”
Social Democrats co-leader Róisín Shortall has said Mr Reid’s “abrupt resignation” as HSE chief executive raises serious questions for Minister Donnelly given CMO Dr Tony Holohan and Deputy CMO Ronan Glynn are also resigning from their positions.
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