CHI to raise dispute over Christmas party ‘donation’ with Aramark
By Cillian Sherlock, Press Association
It was “wrong” for Children’s Health Ireland to ask food service provider Aramark for €30,000 towards a Christmas party for hospital staff, CHI’s chief executive has told an Oireachtas committee.
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) heard disputed evidence over the payment on Thursday, with TDs querying the procurement process involved at CHI.
Chief executive Lucy Nugent – who was not with the hospital group at the time – said the €30,000 was sought from the company to help reduce ticket prices for CHI staff attending a 2022 Christmas party at the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin.
However, James Geoghegan TD told Nugent that Aramark – which provides a concession at CHI Crumlin – had disputed this by stating the payment was instead made as part of a final reconciliation arising out of service interruptions due to the pandemic.
Citing a report in The Irish Times, he said there was a “significant contradiction” in the positions of CHI and Aramark.
Nugent said she was surprised by Aramark’s position, maintaining that CHI had asked for the “donation”, received it, and accepted responsibility.
She said it “was wrong” and that is why CHI had recently repaid the full amount to Aramark through a credit note.
Nugent said she had met with the chief executive of Aramark earlier this week and that CHI’s position on the payments had been accepted.
On the new dispute, she said she would be “taking it up” with the Aramark chief – after saying “categorically” and “regrettably” that “CHI asked for that donation”.
She said there had been concern it was “some sort of backhander, which it wasn’t”.
The committee said the invoice was raised in 2022 and paid in 2023.
It was told the description in the invoice sent to Aramark was for “additional services”.
Asked by Geoghegan if she accepted that CHI should not have given the money back if Aramark’s version of events is correct, Nugent replied: “But that is not the case.”
In investigating the issue, Nugent said she had spoken to the former chief financial officer (CFO) of CHI about the matter and looked at CHI’s accounts.
Current CFO Sharon Gaffney – who was also not with the group at the time – said internal CHI emails used the words “donation” and “staff event” about the payment, but there was no paper record of that reasoning in communication with Aramark.
Nugent said it was “a verbal request”, while Gaffney said the internal emails she had seen were from after the raising of the invoice.
The committee was told the internal emails showed that the staff event was to be invoiced as “additional services”.
It also heard the cost of the party was €27,000.
Under questioning from PAC deputy chairman Paul McAuliffe, Nugent said the request for the apparent donation came from within the senior management team but not someone directly within the procurement department.
She indicated the verbal request would have been a breach of procurement policies, but said she did not believe it compromised procurement processes with Aramark.
Nugent said the company’s existing contract pre-dated the payment and it was subsequently unsuccessful in winning tenders for the new children’s hospital.
Asked by Daniel Ennis TD if she considered there to be a potential conflict of interest given that Aramark is a catering supplier at the Guinness Storehouse, Nugent said she could not answer as she was not sure how the decision came about.
The issue was first highlighted by the Comptroller and Auditor General.
Nugent said she was not aware of any other such payments from other suppliers.
Aramark has been contacted for comment.
