Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Yes, but I am going to address the net issue, if I might. As members will know, I and others here have on a number of occasions raised issues around the fair deal scheme, ancillary charging regimes and so on. We had agreed as a committee to review and examine this area. Last week the executives from HIQA appeared before us, which I found to be a useful exchange. A number of issues were raised with HIQA, including the role of the board, specifically that of the chairman; issues surrounding the role of HIQA itself in respect of the nursing home sector; HIQA's prerogatives as a regulator; and its remit or otherwise in respect of setting charges, where the authority made it clear that it was not a financial regulator. We were given certain assurances. I asked specifically about governance and about the management of conflicts of interest and so on. We were given answers which I thought at the time to be thorough and reassuring.

A story appeared at the weekend in the Sunday Independent - not my newspaper of choice, perhaps.