Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

We need to ensure we do not duplicate this work. The committee is often informed by the experiences brought to members' attention. One cannot get that kind of insight if one has not experienced it directly. When several people start saying the same thing, it piques one's interest.

A range of different services, for example, for young people with autism or intellectual disabilities are outsourced. They are not provided directly by the HSE but by a provider through a service level agreement. People are reluctant to complain because they see the person on behalf of whom they are complaining as a vulnerable person. It is all the more important that the questioning is one step removed from the individuals. There have been questions about how much it is costing to do that, the effectiveness of the outsourcing, and whether there are better outcomes with different providers. Is that part of this review?