Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

If that is the case, then a very serious issue arises that was touched on by various members and the Comptroller and Auditor General in regard to audited accounts which the HSE relies on but which would appear not to be reliable. That is a very serious issue.

Second, with regard to staffing levels, has Mr. O'Brien ever put in a request for additional staff to allow him carry out his functions, given the number of organisations - 1,700 - under his remit? How can he possibly assure the public that he can monitor those if he does not have adequate resources? Has he requested adequate resources?

My final observation is separate from that entirely, and concerns responsibility on the part of the HSE. When we as a society raise an organisation to the level we raised it generally, where the person gets a Person of the Year award and the President of Ireland is patron of that organisation, serious questions must be asked of ourselves in regard to unaccountability.

My two specific questions are on the audited accounts and whether Mr. O'Brien made a request for extra resources. With regard to the accounts, Mr. O'Brien made an extraordinary statement, and I do not doubt him, that he made complaints to regulatory bodies in the past-----