John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Nobody took control of this. The discussion this morning has seen a great deal of doublespeak and double standards. The issue of taking a radical approach was raised earlier but, when it comes to red circles, the HSE will not follow its own stance on the CRC. We have not received section 38 reports yet but it seems the salaries that are out of kilter with regard to section 38 will be red-circled.

Someone inquired as to why we are here today. We are here because Deputy Ross raised the issue of accounts at the CRC. We are not here because the HSE or any of its 500 financial staff discovered what happened. After all of the bluster, the HSE now suggests contracts are in place, and if they are contested, most will have to be red-circled. The audit committee did not do its job properly during the relevant period. If it had done its job, would it have discovered prior to 2009 the issues with which we are now dealing?