Tony Mulcahy (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Some of the points I wish to make may offer solutions in regard to budgetary issues within the HSE. I am certainly not referring to a matter of Government policy. There are areas that Mr. McLoughlin should consider and may well be considering. I am the parent of a child with an intellectual disability. I am not a fan of global or universal payments but am certainly a supporter of funding those who need the service. We must have a money-follows-the-citizen model as quickly as possible. Those who have funding at present are my primary concern. I know quite a few of them. It is a question of how we will care for them in a few months when the funding has ceased. Addressing this is critical.

Let me refer to the actual budgets. This matter was raised in the HSE west area some days ago and it has been a bone of contention for me for a long time. I refer to the voluntary bodies and service providers. I use the term "voluntary" very loosely as I can assure one that they are certainly not voluntary. They are sucking a vast sum of money out of the system. Consider the corporate governance structures in many of the bodies. Brothers of Charity had €167 million for its 2011 budget. Daughters of Charity had €110 million and Rehab Care had €45 million. A raft of advocacy groups throughout the country that do not actually provide any service are receiving funding. I cannot stand over that. I do not need anybody to tell me what my daughter needs. This is the case with many other parents. I would rather have the service, not somebody to advocate on my behalf.

When I see various groups making presentations in the audiovisual room, I see many individuals with the title "chief executive officer". Every one of them is earning €150,000. This is the problem. The chief executive officer of Enable Ireland is on €150,000. With regard to the Brothers of Charity and a raft of bodies throughout the country, the average CEO salary is from €120,000 to-----