Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I am very unimpressed with the decision of representatives of the St. Vincent's Hospital Group not to attend the meeting. Nevertheless, I do not for one moment doubt the veracity of the group's statement on the back of last week's television programme in which it states that there was no investigation under way in the group's private hospital with regard to the report made by the whistleblower to the Department in September 2014. We were informed that this report relates to seven hospitals, whereas the witnesses identified the number involved as five. I will accept the latter figure. It beggars belief that the Garda has had this information since June 2014, 13 months ago. The St. Vincent's Hospital Group has now contacted the Garda and Health Service Executive seeking information regarding the allegations. We are told that the allegations are even more serious than those aired in the "Prime Time" programme last week and that there has been no contact with the Garda for 13 months. It is also ten months since the matter was brought to the attention of the Minister.

Mr. Woods confirmed that the Minister for Health received correspondence from another Deputy in September 2014, which was copied to the Minister for Justice and Equality, in which he was made aware of the detail of the matters relating to five hospitals. Did the HSE not consider it appropriate to alert the private hospital in the St. Vincent's Hospital Group to the irregularities that were taking place? Did the Minister not believe he, his office or the Department should have communicated this information, irrespective of whether it related to a public or private hospital?

I am not impressed that the Garda bureau of fraud investigation is carrying out an investigation into these matters if, 13 months later, at least one of the hospitals in question knows nothing about the matter. The reason Mr. Woods has been able to confirm the role of Mullingar and St. Colmcille's hospitals is that the HSE took a proactive approach to the issue. As his statement makes clear, the HSE met the Garda bureau of fraud investigation only a short time after the allegations were made, namely, in November 2014. I presume, therefore, that it played a part in the initiation of the Garda investigation. However, the St. Vincent's Healthcare Group has known nothing about it since, and I wonder whether an investigation has been taking place at all.