Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witness for that clarification.

There appears to be a pattern here. At our last meeting we saw correspondence from the Central Remedial Clinic which was dismissive of the HSE. I would characterise some of the correspondence as aggressive. Ms Laverne McGuinness accurately described one letter as being told to get lost. Today we have correspondence from St. Vincent's Hospital which, although perhaps more cautiously worded, amounts to the same message. Before we get into the particulars regarding St. Vincent's Hospital, I put it to Dr. McLoughlin and Mr. O'Brien that despite the fact that this saga has been ongoing for many years, quietly perhaps but more recently in the full gaze of the media, with all of the attendant damage that has been done to very important service organisations, we really have not made progress in terms of setting things right.

By that I mean bringing these non-compliant organisations into line with public sector pay policy and recouping those amounts that have been paid in excess of the sanctioned level of salary. What I want to put to both gentlemen is that it seems to me that the system has been a toothless tiger in dealing with this issue, despite circulars, meetings and volumes of correspondence. I would like to hear their reaction to that. The Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Act allows for a process of recouping moneys in excess of the sanctioned salary levels. What consideration has been given to using that legislation in these particular cases? Perhaps Dr. McLoughlin will start.