Mr. Stephen Mulvany:

The head of mental health services and the chief officer can propose, in their engagement with my colleagues here, spending additional money on child mental health services. If they get agreement for that and it is in line with policy, they can make a decision. As Ms O'Connor is trying to make clear, we are trying to foster local accountability and decision-making but it is within the overall policy framework. That means they have to meet the major priority needs first. What they propose must make sense. I used to be involved directly in this division and I note that my colleagues are trying to encourage local services to make the right decisions and to feel some ownership and empowerment in that regard. However, it is not laissez-faire. It is not possible to say it was put into child care and into elderly care if it is not the most obvious priority.