Professor Jim Lucey:

I thank the Deputy for her encouragement. I really appreciate it. The role of inspector is one I want to make available to the Oireachtas and the people in a way that is open and transparent. While the law requires that I must be independent of all vested interests, it is a privilege to be here to share it with the Oireachtas.

The Deputy made a comment about whistleblowing within the health service. It is important to emphasise that the so-called whistleblowers Act, the Protected Disclosures Act, is one we welcome. For the committee's information, we have had a trebling of the protected disclosures inputs into the commission in the past two years, so this process is actually working and it illustrates in a sense how protected disclosures need an independent source and an independent voice and a hearing. That can only be really achieved if there is an independent monitoring such as the commission's. The Deputy's point is very well made with regard to the process of quality governance and progress and improvement in healthcare, and each part of this comes together.

As to what practical steps should be taken now, the first step we are saying is to give the powers to the commission to do-----