The Health Service Executive Board are desperate to improve their online presence, it would appear.

According to The Irish Times the HSE hired a number of social media experts in advisory roles over the past few months to advise staff on a range of social media topics. This comes at time when the HSE was €60million over-budget in the first two months in 2016, with figures pointing to a possible budget deficit of more than €350 million by the end of this year. Well-known food blogger, social media consultant and digital influencer Niall Harbison was hired by the HSE to address staff about his integrated vision for healthcare in Ireland at a recent seminar. According to the HSE, they initially told Harbison's team that they do not pay speakers; however they reached an agreement with Harbison charging a fee of  €500, which is reserved for charitable events. Harbison is best known as the outspoken founder of the Lovin’ Dublin website, a food and lifestyle blog, and is perhaps lesser known for his advising on health matters. After speaking at the Ehealth Ireland event in Dublin on June 29^th, the Chief Information Officer of the HSE, Richard Corbridge, said in a blog post after the seminar that Harbison “had inspired the audience with his vision for an integrated  health system". This story has since sparked a big reaction online, with the over-riding sentiment from commentators being that Harbison should not have charged the HSE for a 20 minute talk. https://twitter.com/soundmigration/status/771137865157844992 https://twitter.com/BrianAnglim1/status/771099596282003456 https://twitter.com/GraemeMcQ/status/771093827385982976 https://twitter.com/benfraser06/status/771075635276091397 https://twitter.com/williamhboney1/status/771067233908977665 https://twitter.com/donlothario/status/771056325803540480 Social media trainer Samantha Kelly, known online as ‘The Tweeting Goddess’ ,was also paid €650 by the HSE for a staff meeting in June. We reached out to Niall Harbison for comment, and a member of his team informed us that he was travelling and unavailable at this time. Cover image via Niall Harbison on Twitter.