John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister and his officials for their willingness to attend, unlike one of the Secretaries General, to whom the Chairman has written several times. I am sure there will be another opportunity for us to meet him.

I am delighted that the Minister has committed to meeting formally with the Minister for Health to monitor the health budget. He said that he and the Minister have met on a few occasions in that respect. What is the context of those meetings? Are they formal meetings with officials from both sides present? What kind of issues have they been discussed in those meetings and how regular have they been?