A board member of the HSE said that comments made in leaked recordings of Department of Health meetings were an “assault on the professional competence, judgment and diligence” of the board.
In an email to fellow board members, Fergus Finlay described details from the recordings as “sneers, not factual criticisms” and said they were “deeply unprofessional”.
Mr Finlay said the comments demanded a “full and complete retraction” and said they could not be allowed to stand, given their impact on the reputations of those working for the HSE.
He said the HSE needed to defend their colleagues when they were “unfairly and gratuitously attacked” and said their trust had been undermined by “cheap sniping”.
The comments followed reports based on secret whistle-blower recordings of meetings of Department of Health staff which were highly critical of the HSE.
The recordings contained comments referring to “fake targets”, concerns about the health service’s “financial sloppiness”, and the credibility of health budgets.