Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It is not a short one; it is a fundamental one. It relates to the chain of command and the free flow of information in both directions, that is, how the director responds. If a person is directing maternity services in the country and there is a glitch somewhere in the system, he or she needs to know about it. He or she also needs to do something about it. If he or she cannot do something about it, we need to know why - apart from money, which is one of the things that comes into it all the time. The people on the ground who are at the coalface need to have confidence in the reporting up along the line. Hence, the chain of command is hugely important.