Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I will try to pick up where the Chairman left off. Before I open the floor to members, I have one or two questions of my own. I will try to keep them brief because I know others have questions.

On the operation of deficits and the manner in which they arise, the phrase "trading recklessly" was used by more than one person. Will the delegates describe for us the impact on the organisations because it would be dramatic and the potential impact on service users? For the organisations and their staff, having to read in the newspapers that there is a deficit is very worrying, but, in turn, it has an impact on service users. I note the use of the phrase "more than a little coercive". Will the delegates describe exactly for us what that behaviour is and how it manifests? It is a serious charge. There is the notion that people are somehow being coerced into signing service level agreements when they know that they will not be in a position to deliver on them and when they also know that if they do not sign them, they will find themselves in a position where their funding may be cut off. I believe I am quoting the phrase directly from at least one of the reports. It jumped out at me and I found it concerning.