The HSE has a new boss. He is Frank Dolphin who will replace Liam Downey, a former director of the company Beckton and Dickson and a member of IBEC’s National Council.
Dolphin has been described in most of the press as clinical psychologist who was chair of the Children’s University Hospital in Temple Street.
So you might think that represents a slight shift away from corporate control over our health service.
But think again.
The press has not highlighted another aspect to Mr Dolphin’s life – he is the chairperson of Rigney Dolphin a leading outsourcing company.

Rigney Dolphin, the company he owns, says the following about its services on its website http://www.rigneydolphin.ie/services.html
Established in 1990, Rigneydolphin has grown to be one of Ireland’s leading Business Process Outsource Service Providers. From the head office in Waterford City we provide a range of Customer Contact Services to both the SME and Corporate Sectors and can provide tailor made packages to include Near-Shore, Off Shore, On-Shore and Insource Solutions.

And:
Our proposition is to provide value added services, which give our clients a Return on Customer Investment through Customer Acquisition, Retention & Loyalty and reduced operational costs. Our business model is built on long-term partnerships and relationships with our clients, ensuring we understand their individual business and business needs and offer value added services and seamless back office support.

In other words, Rigneydolphin is an outsourcing agency.
Now bear in mind what the McCarthy Report had to say about oursourcing in the public sector. Colm McCarthy is a neo-liberal economists who was charged with coming up ideas on how to re-model the public sector on Thatcherite lines. Here is what he wrote:

The Special Group is convinced that there is considerable scope for increased resort to both shared services and outsourcing in the Irish public service. The main benefits to the Exchequer will derive from significant efficiencies and savings on the delivery of schemes. Accordingly, the Group’s general recommendation is that the possibilities of outsourcing services should be actively pursued in each area of the public service with a view to building on the savings obtained through the successful launching of shared services initiatives. The approach should involve pilot projects which can be put in place quickly in areas such as accounts and payment processing. At the minimum, we recommend that all new start-up operations in the public service should be structured along these lines.

No conflict of interest then, in appointing the boss of an outsourcing firm to run our health service. Just the way Mary Harney does her business.