Mr. Jim Breslin:

I wish to make a point outside of the cut and thrust of the controversies over the last week. It relates to the degree of interest in our health services by everyone in this committee room and on the question of the successor to the director general, who will be the new chief executive. I have worked in different parts of the public service but I deeply believe that of all the parts of the public service, healthcare is the most meaningful and impactful role any public servant can play. There are people within our health service, within other sectors and within other jurisdictions who will find the meaning in this role to be absolutely rewarding and personally satisfying especially when added to the opportunity that has been created - including through the work of many people in this room - which provides a clear vision around where we want to get to over the next ten years. We have €10.9 billion in capital to try to bring this about. We have €1.9 billion for a CT strategy and we will soon have a fully-funded Sláintecare implementation plan. I believe this is an exciting role and it should attract anybody who has the essence of public service in their makeup. They could come from any sector but as long as they have that value at heart then we could be successful in recruiting really good candidates to these positions.