Mr. Tony O?Brien:

Many hospitals, both public and voluntary, have friends groups not to provide funding directly into the revenue accounts of those institutions, but to provide patient comforts. They may donate equipment, organise trips and so forth. One would not necessarily expect to see a direct subvention from a friends organisation into the service provider. I do not have sufficient information to reach a conclusion, but a cursory examination of this revenue account, particularly the relationship between lottery proceeds, the surplus and the ordinary activity at the end of the year, certainly raises questions.