John Deasy (Waterford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

There is a good deal in this. As you have said, one of the issues the committee dealt with has to do with procurement and tendering. The Comptroller and Auditor General has carried out reports on the matter. Across the board when it comes to the HSE it is clear that the executive is a bad actor, frankly, when it comes to tendering within public procurement guidelines. When it comes to the issue that you have just raised and what the committee has dealt with in recent weeks, the appropriateness of hiring former HSE employees to do reports for the HSE on issues as disturbing as those we have been dealing with is questionable.

When Mr. O'Brien was before the committee and questioned with regard to the process whereby the tender was awarded, he pointed to some regulations that needed to be followed. When he was questioned about whether they had been followed in that particular case and for the particular contract in question, it was clear that they had not because the procurement office said it had no communication with the HSE on the matter. In hindsight the answer he gave was disingenuous. We have done a great deal of work when it comes to this issue as well as the tendering of contracts by the HSE and the potential conflicts of interest that arise when former employees of the HSE get these contracts.

We should put a formal proposal from the committee to the Minister to change this arrangement. Most of the work has already been done by the committee. It would be simple to do. The issues we have raised in the committee have not been raised in any other forum in the Oireachtas and therefore it is reasonable for us to do that.