David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The setting of the rate was referred to earlier by Deputy McDonald. Mr. O'Brien said that the HSE had no function in regard to cost, which was addressed by the NTPF. Mr. O'Brien is the Accounting Officer and as such he is the person who is accountable to us in terms of cost. That is one of the reasons he is here. This happens very often, as the Chairman has said, in other contexts. We bring in a chief Accounting Officer and ask about costs only to be told "That is not for me, it is for somebody else". In advance of and anticipating that in future, we should be informed that even though he is the Accounting Officer, Mr. O'Brien does not set the actual rate and that we need the NTPF in here. We do not have it today but we need to hear from it at some point. If the NTPF is setting the cost, we need to talk to it. Mr. O'Brien can correct me if I am wrong, but he said he had no function and simply signed the cheques. In terms of the fair deal scheme, he is told what the cost is and signs the cheque. Is that accurate?