The St Vincent's Healthcare Group is to appoint separate CEOs to St Vincent's public hospitals and the group, the Dail Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has been told.

Chair of the group, Prof Noel Whelan, said in future, the role of the CEO of the public hospital and the hospital group would not be held by the same person.

The St Vincent's group comprises its public and private hospitals and St Michael's Hospital in Dun Laoghaire.

The current CEO of both the group and St Vincent's public hospital, Nicky Jermyn, gets a salary of nearly €300,000, including top-ups deemed not to be in compliance with health service pay policy.

Prof Whelan told the PAC that no public or charity funds were involved in top-ups to senior staff at St Vincent's.

He said in future, the salary of the group CEO would be paid entirely from funds generated by the private hosital.

To date, top-ups paid to some senior staff have come from private hospital funds.

He claimed the hospital group was in compliance with public pay policy and it believed so based on legal advice.

Prof Whelan said the group was in discussions with the HSE on pay compliance issues. The net result of this, he said, was that there should be no pay compliance issues in future with the HSE.

The PAC was told the pay situation was currently being regularised in terms of remuneration to senior staff in the St Vincent's group.

Prof Whelan said the board of the St Vincent's group had agreed to add to its existing board committees a 'public interest committee'.