Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

We will do our very best Chairman, as always.

I thank Mr. Devane and Mr. O’Sullivan for appearing before the committee and wish them the best of luck. The HSE is one of the most, if not the most, important and complex organisations in the country. Having the board back in place is certainly good and welcome, as the abolition of the board some years back was a serious mistake. The health system has certainly suffered without having a board in place.

One of the three main roles of any corporate board, particularly of an organisation of the scale and complexity of the HSE, is the development of strategy.

The second role is accountability of the executive team, in terms of holding it to account, putting sanctions in place or removing them when necessary, or rewarding the team through remuneration and so on. What is the witness's understanding of this board because arguably it is a bit different? Does he believe it has a role in setting strategy? Presumably he believes holding the executive team to account is one of its roles, but does he believe its powers extend to tabling sanctions if necessary, up to and including removing the director general or other members of the executive team? On the flip side, does he any powers or authority in granting whatever rewards might be deemed appropriate by the board, at a director general or executive team level?