Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour) | Oireachtas source

There was an email from Ms Tracey Conroy to Mr. David Moloney on 20 November. I will read it into the record because, following my question, Mr. Watt will need to hear it. Ms Conroy is the assistant secretary of the acute hospitals policy division in the Department of Health. I do not know Mr. Moloney. The email states:

David we have been seeking to meet your division on this issue since the end of September - Fionnuala's discussions with Barry O'Brien on September 27 and follow up voicemails and emails requesting a meeting on October 17, October 24 and November 15.

I'd appreciate if you could revert with a time [...]

In light of the scale of this issue and the fact that the Minister for Health has been aware of it since the end of August or early September, why in the name of God did it take so long to reach that point? We now know Mr. Watt's Minister was aware of it on 9 November. Mr. Jim Breslin made a reference to it during budget negotiations in October. That is acknowledged by an official in the Department. Why did it take so long for officials in two Departments to sit down and have a meeting?