James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

While I understand the thinking behind the proposed amendments regarding the role of the Joint Committee on Health and Children, I have some difficulties with them. The purpose of section 10(a) is to enable the Minister to specify priorities to which the HSE must have regard in preparing its service plan and establish performance targets in respect of those priorities. This is not done in isolation. Pending the establishment of the new child and family support agency, the Minister must consult with the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs in respect of HSE functions that relate to the functions of that Minister. The Minister must also consult with the HSE.

Amendment No. 2 is concerned with a role for the joint committee where the Minister is determining priorities and setting performance targets. Priorities and target setting for the HSE seem to me to be matters for the Minister to address in the context of Government policy because the Government sets the policy. The joint committee has an essential role in exercising democratic oversight, bringing any concerns to the attention of the Minister, and monitoring how Government policies affect people. Rightly, the Minister can be held to account by the Oireachtas for the performance of the HSE but that is entirely different from having the Oireachtas committee being involved in the formulation of policy, which is a Government prerogative.

Amendment No. 17 is similar in concept to amendment No. 2 in that it proposes a role for the joint committee in regard to amending the HSE service plan. Any necessary amendment to a service plan submitted to the Minister under section 31 of the Health Act 2004 is essentially a matter for the Minister in consultation with the HSE. It is, however, for the committee to inform matters through evaluating policy and acting as a watchdog.

I am concerned there are also practical difficulties in regard to the amendment given the tight deadline in which the Minister must respond to a service plan submitted by the HSE. This is the subject of a later amendment for discussion today so I do not propose to accept either amendment.