Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I must leave the medical device issue to someone else, as I am conscious of my time. The witnesses can credibly argue - it does not mean that I agree with them - that many of the issues discussed today were a sign of a different time, a legacy, contractual obligations, etc., but I want to discuss the here and now. On 20 separate occasions in 2013, the HSE wrote to Mr. Nugent in many cases or to Mr. Goulding or Mr. Kiely in other cases. They were dated 30 January, 25 April, 2 May, 13 June, 26 June, 28 June, 8 July, 10 July, 15 July - this is important - 23 July, 6 August, 8 August, 14 August, 26 August, 27 August, 4 September, 16 September, 13 November, 6 December and 10 December. We all have the correspondence to read and share. On each occasion, the HSE waved a flag reading "Stop". This relates directly to the appointment of the missing man, Mr. Brian Conlan, as CEO. The witnesses can argue around the houses - to some degree, we will need to - about Mr. Kiely's level of remuneration and contractual obligations, but there is general agreement that they knew from 2009, including from further correspondence up until this year, how to go about making future appointments. Despite this, the CRC was issued with a second performance notice by the HSE for non-compliance under the service arrangement, something the HSE described in a letter to Mr. Nugent dated 14 August as being unprecedented in its relationship with its non-statutory provider organisations. It was issued a first performance notice on 15 July and a second on 6 August. This point relates to my question about not being solely responsible, in that, while the board must make decisions, it is duty bound to the taxpayer to adhere to Government policy and the HSE service-level agreement. This notice clearly states that the board did not, since it did not seek prior approval before hiring Mr. Conlan or advertise externally. The HSE expressed concern about the fact that the CRC involved an external agency to undertake the recruitment process yet filled the post internally. Some of the CRC's own letters referred to the appointee as being a staff member, but Mr. Conlan was actually a board member. There seems to have been considerable vagueness about the pension entitlements and remuneration of the now former CEO. What was happening?