MUMN president Paul Pace under investigation by FCID

MUMN President Paul Pace is being investigated by the Financial Crimes Investigation Department (FCID), according to documents seen by The Shift.

In a letter to the Financial Controller at Mater Dei dated 8 October, the FCID requested data on attendance sheets and pay slips over three years in relation to an ongoing investigation by the police department.

The union head was at the centre of controversy last year when an investigation by the health ministry revealed that Pace, who was also a charge nurse at Mount Carmel Hospital, received an average of €27,000 a year in allowances and overtime between 2012 and 2022.

In 10 years, Pace received a total of €269,000 in overtime and on-call allowances on top of his official salary. The health ministry’s investigation showed he was asking for overtime and double pay even when he was abroad.

According to official figures, the salary of a charge nurse was a maximum of €29,625 in 2022.

A fact-finding board found Pace guilty of engaging in “a systematic pattern of abuse over several years”, noting Pace “has on-call duty arrangements which seem to be designed exclusively for him”.

The CEO of Mount Carmel Hospital told the inquiry board the MUMN boss had exaggerated his hours of work, but no action could be taken against the abuse because he would issue directives that would affect the care of patients at the hospital.

While he admitted the allegations against him, he was only suspended for five days instead of being dismissed.

In July, the Office of the Prime Minister allowed Pace to work at the union instead of as a nurse at Mount Carmel.

Pace did not reply to questions.