Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I will move to a different topic. It is an unusual one, but I picked it up in Appendix 3 on page 195, the last page of the accounts. It is a figure of €18,262,000 for security.

I understand why one needs security in hospitals as there can be difficult, troublesome and violent patients and patients who need to be separated. I am sure the gardaí need to be called on occasion. Will Mr. Woods give me a breakdown on how that €18 million is tendered? Does each group of hospitals do its own? Is it done centrally? Does a security firm in Cork look after the Cork hospitals and a security firm in Galway look after the Galway hospitals? Are there local arrangements and local contractors or is there central purchasing? What arrangements are in place? Some €18 million is a large figure. It is unfortunate that we have to spend this money; let us be clear about that.