Mr. Tony O'Brien:

It might be easier for me to answer that. For now, all of the hospitals in the Saolta group are wholly owned parts of the HSE. They do not become independent entities until such time as legislation is drafted and passed by the Oireachtas to do that. However, in a sense where we are heading to next year is a not dissimilar position to what that will bring. Much like the current situation with the voluntary hospitals, it will be as though that group becomes a separate legal entity, has its own bank account and gets monthly transfers from the successor body to the HSE, the health care commission, and must live within that. If it does not, it will have to talk to its bank manager. However, for now, those changes have not occurred and all of those hospital groups will continue for now under exactly the same governance arrangements that have pertained since the establishment of the HSE. We have put in place group chief executives who have delegated authority from me, through the national director of acute hospitals. The hospital groups all have boards or partial boards which are effectively advisory in nature and have no legal standing.