Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

On the Deputy's second-last question, major issues arise with regard to the governance and ownership of the various elements of the health service. We have inherited a system with a significant number of voluntary hospitals which operate independently. There is no doubt that serious governance issues arise in this regard and that these issues need to be addressed. They complicate the creation of a single structure in terms of the groups. I ask Ms Hardiman to respond first.