Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour) | Oireachtas source

That is important information to get out. Ms Dunnion spoke earlier about the costs of registering. In terms of what the public needs to know also, there are registration costs. That is fine; that is the easy part. It is when HIQA comes in and makes recommendations. Organisations have two choices. They either do nothing and they will close or else they find the money and, in many cases, run deficits and eventually sort it out. In regard to the Health Service Executive budgets, for instance, and capital plans, the consequences of the decisions of HIQA have a knock-on effect on health budgets across the HSE.

That brings me on to some real issues. The Chairman is probably not aware of this but there is a unique court case going on in Ennis, which I will not get into, between the HSE and HIQA. That is why I am interested in this. I presume the witnesses' legal fees will go up because this case is unique. It is based around the registration of St. Joseph's Hospital. I will not get into the details on this issue because that is for the health committee and also there are some aspects we probably should not get into. I raise that issue because the HSE has taken a decision regarding a decision HIQA has made on the admittance of patients. It has gone to court to stop this happening because in its judgment it is not warranted. However, that is not the debate. In terms of what I want to get into, with regard to HIQA's costs for inspections and how it carries out its functions, these are high costs. For instance, in the case I am referring to, this hospital was visited four times in a short space of time; it was definitively three. How does HIQA manage the costs associated with the type of inspections it has to carry out? Will they grow? How are individual costs managed? Across the nursing home sector, there is a capital investment plan in place for the next number of years. How do the witnesses manage all that, costs wise?