James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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The director of mental health will be on the directorate, as will be the directors of hospitals, primary care and social care. It is unnecessary to specify mental health on its own in this regard. I do not believe we need to have it spelled out. Section 8 provides that the directorate will consist of a director general and other persons referred to in the Bill as appointed directors. To offer flexibility and allow the size of the governing structure to adapt to changing circumstances, the Bill does not specify a fixed number of members for the directorate, instead providing for a maximum of seven and a minimum of three. I will be bringing further amendments on Report Stage to allow for flexibility in allowing people who are not directors to serve on the directorate, such as the chief operating officer and the chief financial officer. I am happy to confirm that the directorate will include the director of mental health services, the director of primary care, the director of hospitals, the director of social care and the director of health and well-being. There is no issue in this regard. Why specify one without all the others? It is not something that makes a lot of sense. I appreciate what the Deputy is saying in regard to emphasising mental health and I concur that for far too long mental health has been the Cinderella of the health services. That is certainly not going to remain the case but there is no question of the directorate not including the director of mental health. If I named one person above everybody else, that would lead us into a strange place. I understand what the Deputy is trying to achieve but I would prefer not to take this amendment. I ask him not to press it because I do not want to send the wrong message that we are not regarding mental health as important as every other directorate.