Ms Laverne McGuinness:

In answer to the question about planning year-on-year, in the example of the hospitals, if there is a reduction overall in the budget that has to be applied across the HSE. The organisations, such as the acute hospitals, bear a portion of that reduction. We consider the level of service to be provided year-on-year. We do that on our own service plan.

In respect of the charitable status of the agencies, our service plan specifies that we engage with and fund the voluntary agencies. That is something we could take on more proactively as a public relations opportunity to let everybody know that the HSE largely funds these services, particularly the section 38 agencies. Some of the section 39 agencies are relatively small and have funding from other sectors too.

Our financial systems are not fit for purpose. This is a significant risk for us in terms of our ability to respond quickly to decision making. The systematic information provided is consolidated. The information is accurate but not timely.