Paul Reid claimed a €20,000 car allowance last year while also having an army driver.
The extremely well-paid chief executive of the HSE, with a package worth €426k a year, enjoyed the chauffeur services of an army driver in a sponsored BMW during travel lockdowns last year.
But accounts for 2020 reveal that Mr Reid also claimed his full entitlement to a company car allowance, worth €19,141 for the year, which is close to the €22k a junior nurse would be paid for a full year’s work.
A spokeswoman for the HSE told the Irish Mirror the health service’s top executive was given a driver so he wouldn’t get tired on long commutes from his home in Leitrim to HSE bases in Dublin.
The costs of the service were covered by the Defence Forces and sponsors, BMW Ireland.
The HSE spokeswoman confirmed that Mr Reid used the army driver services for up to half the year.
She said: “Mr Reid utilised the service intermittently until late June 2020, when restrictions on travel were lifted.”
There was a nationwide 5km general travel ban introduced in January last year and it was not fully lifted until the end of June.
The 2020 accounts for the HSE released in July show Mr Reid’s pay and a note containing details of his car allowance.
It showed: “Remuneration CEO €426,337” for last year, up nearly €100,000 from the already impressive €337,000 he was paid in 2019.
A note in the accounts adds: “The CEO received total remuneration of €426,208 comprising basic pay €358,651, allowances €48,416 and benefit in kind (company car) €19,141.”
The Mirror first reported last July that Mr Reid was chauffeured up and down to work in Dublin from his home in Leitrim in a free Beemer by soldiers during the pandemic.
The Defence Forces and the HSE both confirmed to the Mirror that the special service was laid on for the health service’s top executive.
And BMW Ireland have confirmed to us that it was a swanky BMW X1 that was provided.
The army did not charge the State, but if they did, the cost for the extra service to the HSE would have paid upwards of €25,000 to lay on a driver every day.
A chauffeur service with an executive car costs in the region of €500 to €700 a day.
For example, if it was laid on five days a week for ten weeks of the pandemic, the bill could have hit somewhere between €25,000 and €35,000.
The HSE told the Mirror: “The Defence Forces provided the services of one driver per journey to Mr Reid on occasions for travel between Leitrim and Dublin for necessary meetings and briefings until the removal of travel restrictions.
“The CEO resided in Leitrim for duration of lockdown as this was where he was located when restrictions were imposed.
“This assistance enabled the CEO to conduct video conferences while mobile and for safety reasons due to long working hours during the on-going national public health emergency.
“The vehicle used was not a HSE vehicle.
“The vehicle was one of a number of vehicles generously on loan from private organisations to assist in the pandemic response.”
BMW Ireland Director, Kevin Davidson, Managing Director BMW Ireland, said at the time: “We are privileged to be able to support the fantastic work being carried out by the HSE during the crisis.”
Want the latest news delivered straight to your inbox? Sign up for the Irish Mirror's free newsletters here.
