Mr. Thomas Lynch:

It is not a practice that would be tolerated or permitted. We would expect any staff offered hospitality, for example, to report it to their superiors and ask whether it would be acceptable. In general terms, the ethics in public office provisions apply across the statutory and voluntary hospitals. While one could never say it does not happen, it is very clear that the control environment in the hospitals would be such that employees would be aware that if they did anything inappropriate, it would be a disciplinary matter.