Jerry Buttimer (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I remind those in attendance to place their mobile phones in silent or airplane mode, as it helps with the broadcasting of the meeting. We have apologies from Deputies Billy Kelleher, Eamonn Maloney, Dan Neville, Catherine Byrne, Ciara Conway and Sandra McLellan, and Senator Imelda Henry.

I thank members for being here. Our meeting this afternoon is to discuss procurement practices for the purchase of hospital medical supplies and equipment. I welcome the chief executive officer of the Beacon Hospital, Mr. Michael Cullen; from the HSE, Mr. Liam Woods, national director of the acute hospital division, Mr. Michael Flynn, national director of internal audit, Dr. Geraldine Smith, assistant national director of internal audit, and Mr. John Swords, head of procurement; and Mr. Thomas Lynch, chairperson of the Ireland East Hospital Group. I thank Ray Mitchell and his staff for liaising with the committee today.

We invited St. Vincent's Healthcare Group to discuss the matter with us. As members will know from correspondence and from a telephone conversation I had with the group, it declined to attend. The correspondence shows that it declined to attend on the grounds that it was conducting an internal investigation and it would be inappropriate for its representatives to appear before the committee today. It is disappointing and regrettable that they decided not to participate in today's meeting. Its representatives assured me in writing and during our conversations that they would come before the committee once the internal investigation had been completed. I believe I speak on behalf of all of us when I say we would prefer if they were here today.