Health

HSE an unfixable ‘basket case’, according to leading tax lawyer

Martin Phelan, speaking about how citizens must be tax-transparent but public-sector bodies largely are not, said that the Irish health service was long overdue a financial review

Martin Phelan, the tax lawyer is head of tax for Ireland at London law firm Simmons & Simmons: says public sector bodies rarely face scrutiny for decisions made with taxpayer money. Picture: Daniel Lynch

A leading tax lawyer has said there is a double standard in requiring citizens to be fully transparent about their taxation while officials in public-sector bodies such as the HSE rarely face scrutiny for decisions made with taxpayer money.

Martin Phelan, head of tax for Ireland with Simmons & Simmons, said it was unfair that the transparency expected of citizens in relation to their affairs did not extend to bodies like the HSE, which he ...