HSE boss Paul Reid has announced he will be stepping down from his position later this year.
Mr Reid, whose pay totalled nearly €412,000 last year, is said to have been mulling over his decision for some time.
Sources have insisted that Mr Reid’s choice to step away from his role was solely due to wanting to spend more time with his family.
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However, tension has been reported recently between Health Minister Stephen Donnelly and Mr Reid after the HSE chief said plans to reconfigure services at Our Lady’s Hospital Navan will proceed, despite a request from Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly to put them on hold.
Mr Reid said that “it would be a mistake” for the Minister to use his powers under the Health Act to direct the Health Service Executive to call a halt to its plans.
Taoiseach Micheal 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. They 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.”
In a statement, Mr Reid said he was quitting to spend more time with his family and that it was his “belief that the HSE was entering a new phase and that the appointment of a new leader was now timely”.
Read more: HSE CEO Paul Reid stepping down to 'spend more time with family'
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.
Meanwhile, Social Democrats co-leader Roisin Shortall has said Mr Reid’s “abrupt resignation” as HSE chief executive raises serious questions for Minister Donnelly.
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