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

I understand there is a difference in regard to what is lawful. I want to go to the Ombudsman's report, in particular the executive summary. We are here trying to decode language because people hear something and it is then qualified, and we nearly have to describe that. The Ombudsman's report, which was published about 2012, stated that, after a long delay, the HSE responded. In summary, it said it acted in accordance with its statutory obligations but then qualified it by saying “within the resources available”. Therefore, the reading of it is that it acted, but only within the resources available. This is what the Ombudsman said, not me, and the witnesses can read the report. Another response was that it would not be able to pay compensation because the impact of that would affect other patients. Did the HSE act strictly within its statutory obligations or was that qualified? What engagement did it have with the Department and what instructions did it get from the Department in regard to that?