David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

We had a discussion earlier on the email that I walked Mr. Watt through. Deputy Shortall referred to the wording as well, which was that over time the HSE will seek to expand the remit of hospital groups to include community services. It goes on to say that there are complexities in this, as the geographies of the CHOs and HGs do not align, which of course they do not. They will only align once we set up new structures geographically, which have already been agreed. Is it the case then from my reading of this, which may be wrong, that the HSE wants to expand the remit of hospital groups to include community services, and probably to align or amalgamate leadership teams across CHOs and hospital groups? What is the timeframe for that?

Why is that being done within the current geographical alignment, as opposed to sticking with what Sláintecare has agreed, which is the six regional health areas? I have expressed concerns already. Concerns were also expressed by people who resigned from Sláintecare on whether this would be satisfactory. What is the timeframe envisaged by the Department for the new regional structures to be in place in full?