Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome everyone to the meeting. No apologies have been received. If attending in the committee room or from the precincts of Leinster House, attendees are asked to exercise personal responsibility to protect themselves and others against the risk of contracting Covid-19. Members attending remotely must do so from within the precincts of Leinster House. This is due to the constitutional requirement that in order to participate in public meetings, members must be physically present within the confines of the Parliament.

The Comptroller and Auditor General, Mr. Seamus McCarthy, is a permanent witness to the committee and is accompanied this morning by Mr. John Crean, deputy director of audit at the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General.

This morning we will engage with the Health Service Executive, HSE, to examine, in the context of its 2021 financial statements, mental health-related expenditure in community health organisations, CHOs, 4 and 8. We will meet the HSE at the same time next Thursday to examine its 2021 financial statements in detail, including expenditure on ambulance services.

We are joined in the committee room by the following officials from the HSE: Mr. Paul Reid, chief executive officer; Mr. Stephen Mulvany, chief financial officer; Mr. Damien McCallion, chief operations officer; Ms Mairéad Dolan, assistant chief financial officer; and Mr. Maurice Farnan, assistant national director, community operations. We are also joined remotely from outside the precincts of Leinster House by the following officials from the HSE: Ms Anne Kennedy, acting chief officer and head of finance, CHO 8; Ms Dervila Eyres, head of mental health services, CHO 8; and Mr. Michael Fitzgerald, chief officer, CHO 4. We are also joined in the committee room by the following officials from the Department of Health: Ms Siobhán McArdle, assistant secretary; and Mr. Kevin Colman, principal officer. As usual, I remind all those in attendance to ensure their mobile phones are on silent mode or switched off.

I wish to explain some limitations to parliamentary privilege and the practice of the Houses as regards reference witnesses may make to other persons in their evidence. The evidence of witnesses physically present or who give evidence from within the parliamentary precincts is protected, pursuant to both the Constitution and statute, by absolute privilege. However, three of today's witnesses are giving their evidence remotely, from a place outside of the parliamentary precincts, and as such may not benefit from the same level of immunity from legal proceedings as a witness physically present does. These witnesses have already been advised that they may think it appropriate to take legal advice on this matter.

Members are reminded of the provisions in Standing Order 218 that the committee shall refrain from inquiring into the merits of a policy or policies of the Government, or a Minister of the Government, or the merits of the objectives of such policies. Members are also reminded of the long-standing parliamentary practice that they should not comment on, criticise, or make charges against a person outside the Houses or an official either by name or in such a way as to make him or her identifiable. I now call on the Comptroller and Auditor General, Mr. Seamus McCarthy, to make his opening statement.