Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister and his officials in presenting the Estimates. It is very hard to discuss the Estimates without referencing the kind of reporting we have seen recently in regard to the views of some of the senior officials within his Department. We know from reporting in The Sunday Business Postthat some of the commentary from senior officials in the Department of Health in regard to the HSE referred to things like chasing fake targets, a recruitment crisis in the HSE, sloppiness around financial reporting and hundreds of millions of euro of adjustments and fundamental errors in past accounts. We could be going into detail about the Estimates and asking questions of the Minister about that but if senior officials in his Department do not have confidence in the HSE’s financial management, are we really wasting our time? What is the Minister's view in regard to those comments that were recorded and reported in The Sunday Business Post?

What kind of issue does he believe need to be addressed as a matter of urgency in relation to financial accountability, if they are the views of staff in his Department?