Colm Brophy (Dublin South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I remind members and witnesses to turn off their mobile phones. Overruns in health expenditure have become a key issue and exercised the committee during its pre-budget discussion earlier this year. In July 2018, the prospect of significant overruns in the health budget was flagged to the committee and became a key theme raised with the Minister for Finance at our summer meeting and in our interim report which was published in July. Following budget 2019, the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council and the Parliamentary Budgetary Office highlighted expenditure management in the health service as a key fiscal risk. The role of our committee is to monitor fiscal and budgetary risks and make recommendations on how budget scrutiny can be improved. As such, we requested the attendance of officials from the Department of Health and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform to discuss our difficulties in scrutinising the health Vote and its impact on broader fiscal and budgetary policy. I welcome to the committee today Mr. Colm Desmond, Assistant Secretary of the Department of Health, and acknowledge his agreement to attend at short notice to accommodate the committee's request. I note that the committee had invited the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform to contribute to the meeting but it declined the invitation. This is something the committee finds regrettable and unacceptable. The committee noted the lack of engagement by the Department and agreed to follow it up with the Minister for Finance and Public Expenditure and Reform at the earliest opportunity. We have now done that.

I draw the attention of Mr. Desmond to the fact that by virtue of section 17(2)(l) of the Defamation Act 2009, witnesses are protected by absolute privilege in respect of their evidence to the committee. However, if they are directed by the committee to cease giving evidence on a particular matter and they continue to so do, they are entitled thereafter only to a qualified privilege in respect of their evidence. They are directed that only evidence connected with the subject matter of these proceedings is to be given and they are asked to respect the parliamentary practice to the effect that, where possible, they should not criticise or make charges against any person, persons or entity by name or in such a way as to make him, her or it identifiable.

Members are reminded of the long-standing parliamentary practice to the effect that they should not comment on, criticise or make charges against a person outside the House or an official either by name or in such a way as to make him or her identifiable.

Mr. Desmond provided a statement on the issues before us to the Joint Committee on Health a few weeks ago. I invite him to make a number of points to us before we discuss the matter further with him.