Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

We have made the argument. I acknowledge that the Minister of State has been asked to step in at the last minute and perhaps did not know she was coming in today, so my remarks are no reflection on her. She has been asked to come in by the Minister. However, I believe that, in a discussion on legislation to reinstate the board of the HSE, it is pretty extraordinary that the Minister did not turn up. This is an important conversation. The Minister of State does not have the briefing and even if she did she would not be in a position to make any decisions because she is not the line Minister and not a member of Cabinet. It is extraordinary that the Minister is not here to debate the issues about the reinstatement of the HSE board. Deputies O'Reilly, Durkan and Murphy O'Mahony and I were talking about whether anyone on the board of the HSE should have a medical background. That is a pretty important conversation to have.

I have considered the board membership and am open to being wrong but my understanding is that not one member has a medical background. If that is correct, it is pretty extraordinary. The Minister should be present to explain why, in his opinion, he is comfortable that no one on the new board of the HSE has a medical background. That is pretty astonishing.

We have rehearsed all the arguments. I will be pressing this amendment because I have heard nothing that gives me any confidence that, without these amendments, the HSE will have the requisite experience it needs. How any Government could try to tell the Parliament that the board of its health system has the correct blend of skills and experience when not one of its members has a medical background is absolutely extraordinary, yet that is what we are hearing today. I will leave it at that. I will be pressing the amendment.