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

I thank all the witnesses for attending. I congratulate Professor Lucey on his appointment, a very important one, and wish him well in that role.

It is important to note the fact that what was going on with the serious difficulties in south Kerry and the subsequent issues that came to light came to light only because of a whistleblower. We should keep that front and centre in our minds. The subsequent response to the whistleblower and his treatment, I think, is an indication of the scale of the challenge facing us in addressing this in an open and constructive manner and the difficulties with the culture around this, which does not encourage people to speak out. That is just an important point and I will raise it with the HSE as well.

There are a number of different factors to this, and the whole question of investment is very important. It is not the only one by any means. We have yet to hear about budget allocation after yesterday as regards mental health services. What I am hearing through the grapevine is not encouraging, but we will wait until we hear the announcement today about that.

The witnesses have spoken about the importance of extending the remit of the commission in terms of oversight and regulation and their view that that can be done within the existing legislation. In practical terms, what steps need to be taken to extend that remit to the commission?