The Mater Hospital has told the Dail Public Accounts Committee (PAC) that the Central Remedial Clinic had made inaccurate statements about its administration of a CRC pension scheme.

In light of this, PAC members called on former CRC Chief Executive Paul Kiely to correct incorrect statements he made previously to the Committee about the scheme.

Mater Chief Executive Mary Day told the PAC today a €660,000 per annum sum given to it by the Central Remedial Clinic (CRC) was the Clinic employers' contribution to cover the CRC staff pension scheme.

Ms Day told Independent Deputy Shane Ross that a statement in the CRC accounts that the Mater charged the Clinic over €600,000 for the operation of this scheme was not correct.

The PAC called on former CRC Chief Executive Paul Kiely to correct statements he previously made about the CRC pension fund administered by the Mater. It had been alleged, incorrectly, that this was a 'phantom fund', the Committee meeting was told.

PAC Chair John McGuinness said Mr Kiely should correct the previous incorrect statements he made about the pension fund.

Ms Day told the Dail Public Accounts Committee (PAC) today that the Mater administered the CRC pension scheme under the Voluntary Hospitals Superannuation Scheme. Ms Day said the CRC scheme administered by the Mater was in line with public sector pensions policy and the HSE had authorised the necessary payments.

This practice dated back to the 1970s, when the CRC had sought Department of Health funding but could not be given this funding through the Department at the time as it was not a voluntary hospital. Instead, it was decided at the time that funding would be administered through the Mater.

Mr Kiely had claimed that he had raised concerns about the scheme with the Mater on numerous occasions. However, Ms Day told the Committee she could find no record of such correspondence from Mr Kiely.