Mr. Tony O'Brien:

It is a good question. There are three distinct reasons. Prior to 2014, there was no compliance unit. I will deal with that separately, if I may. Prior to the implementation of the public sector recruitment moratorium, the internal audit function was somewhat larger at approximately 55 staff. As the Deputy will recall, there were a number of targeted exit programmes that sought to reduce the number of staff employed in the public service generally, but also in the HSE in what is known as the management and administration category. Large numbers of people were able to raise their hands and leave the organisation. The internal audit function shrank to approximately 40 staff during that period. Although I have had to do so by reprioritising, I have increased that figure to 50 in recent years in response to some of the issues that have emerged. In addition, I have established the compliance unit specifically to examine how effective we are in monitoring our service arrangements and service agreements. Mr. Brian Purcell heads that unit. He has 11 whole-time-equivalents, WTEs, but I am seeking to prioritise three more in order to strengthen that area further.

In all respects, there are limitations on our ability to recruit management and administration staff. There is a bit of a fatwa in that regard, as colleagues will be aware. Management and administration grades are not properly valued in general, but without such staff, one cannot have an internal audit function. Nonetheless, and given the scale of the organisation, although it is the largest internal audit function in the public sector, it is probably significantly undersized. In a previous question, we were asked about why we relied on external auditors' annual financial statements and certificates. Essentially, it is because we have to. We could not replicate that through some other mechanism. It is worth noting that, between 2007 and 2015, Console received a clean audit certificate every year from its auditors.