Liam Twomey (Wexford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

We have a few minutes left so I shall ask a few brief questions. My first question is for Mr. Harty. In regard to the section 39 issue he raised in some internal HSE reports that outline inefficiencies and possible potential waste of money, will he highlight those reports for us? All we want is the name of the reports and the committee will request a more detailed breakdown from the HSE.

Mr. Martin commented that funding throughout the country for supports for people with dementia and Alzheimer's is unequal. Will he give us some further detail on this? Since the HSE was set up in 2004, we have always been told that, as a result, we would have equality of service right across the country. It is quite clear that, almost ten years later, all the same inequalities in services provided throughout the country exist as much today as they did under the old health board regions. Can Mr. Martin provide detail on this? While we cannot dictate to the HSE how to do its job, we can look at its budgets and if it is not getting around to doing what it should have been doing for the past ten years, we would like to highlight that for it. As this committee is responsible for examining public expenditure and reform, I would like to be able to highlight what is going on.

My next query is for Mr. Bryan. The most difficult part of the Common Agricultural Policy negotiations is about to start in so far as the people elected by the people of this country are concerned. There will be a huge problem in this area between productive farmers and others and the use of money we get and taxpayers' money for income support for small unproductive farms. Payments to these farmers are essentially income supports. This issue will create a certain amount of conflict. Many productive farmers will see their CAP payments reduced because of changes demanded by Europe.

Perhaps Mr. Bryan could comment on that.