James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I wish to take up what some other speakers said about the opening statement. I sat on the Committee on the Future of Healthcare and I sit on the Joint Committee on the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution. While I am glad the witnesses from the HSE are here, this document gives us no insights. It is the kind of answer we get at the start of the reply to an oral parliamentary question. In future we expect far more detail and much more insight. The concern is the lack of insight. Are the witnesses satisfied that an effective accountability system is in place? Does the HSE have measurements to assess how much is being spent, where it is being spent and what are the outcomes? How much is being spent on external placements? From what budget does that come?

Over three years, €17 million was returned from Roscommon. Cuts were made without any reference to safety or quality assessment. Has that ended? The Roscommon report recommended that budgeting would be delegated down to lower levels. Does the HSE accept that recommendation from the Roscommon report?