HSE probes procurement in ambulance service

The Health Service Executive has launched an internal investigation into a "procurement issue" at the national ambulance service.

It is understood the investigation centres on the purchase of a fleet of cars that were to be converted for emergency use. The Health Service Executive (HSE) already has a contract with a major company to provide vehicles for its ambulance fleet, but HSE managers are now probing whether the cars were purchased from a different supplier.

A HSE spokesman confirmed this weekend that a "procurement issue" at the National Ambulance Service is under investigation.

"The HSE is aware of this issue and is taking the matter very seriously. The HSE is not in a position to provide any further comment at this stage as we are awaiting the completion of an investigation of this issue," he said.

The investigation began recently and is expected to be concluded within the coming weeks.

As one of the biggest State purchasers, the organisation tenders hundreds of contracts worth millions of euro every year that are put out to tender.

However, Tony O'Brien, the director general of the HSE, told the Public Accounts Committee that it would take "a number of years" before it could fully meet procurement standards, such is the scale and complexity of its purchasing power.