Beaumont Hospital to apologise over governance failures

Beaumont Hospital in Dublin will apologise this morning for governance and control failures identified in its 2024 accounts and will say it was never its intention to withhold information from the Public Accounts Committee (PAC).

Chief Executive Anne Coyle will tell the PAC that the accounts identified a "number of historic control issues" and will issue an "unreserved apology" on behalf of the hospital.

The committee had asked Beaumont Hospital management to appear before it to explain what was described as "astounding" failures of governance.

The hospital spent €17.9 million on "non-compliant procurement" in 2024, the committee heard in April.

This included €1.5m paid to a radiology firm of which 20 hospital staff members are directors.

Only four of them declared their directorships in their statements of interest to the hospital, Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG) Seamus McCarthy revealed.

Beaumont Hospital's deficit increased by more than half that year, surging by over €17.6m.

This morning, Ms Coyle will say the control issues were disclosed by the hospital "voluntarily and transparently following identification".

The CEO will say this serves as "testimony to improvements in financial oversight and governance structure which have been made".

Ms Coyle will acknowledge the PAC's "dissatisfaction with the hospital with the hospital for having disclosed certain matters at a late stage in proceedings".

"The hospital had signalled these matters to the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General during the audit in 2025.

"I wish to reiterate that it was never the intention of the hospital to withhold information from the committee," she will tell TDs.

Ms Coyle will stress that governance controls had been overhauled and new oversight structures established across financial, operational and capital projects.

"We now have a robust suite of governance proceudures in place and will continue to work to refine and upgrade these as appropriate," she will say.

Ms Coyle will tell the committee that the board and executive team of Beaumont Hospital are "deeply committed to ensuring the hospital is managed responsibly and transparently".

"We recognise the trust placed in us to use public and donated funds prudently and this responsibility guides every decision we make," the CEO will add.

The PAC will also hear that the misclassification of some vendors was identified in the hospital's 2025 accounts and subsequently flagged to the C&AG.

Ms Coyle will say the hospital is confident it has taken corrective actions to resolve issues and that improved governance structures are in place.