Joan Freeman (Independent)
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Thank you, Mr. Kane. Before I call on members for questions I will address a point Mr. Kane made which I find somewhat disappointing. He stated:

The Oversight Group is clear that the terms of reference ask it to focus on refreshing policy. ... This differs from the work of the Joint Committee, whose focus is on service improvement, staff shortages and funding.

I have to clarify this. The committee's remit is not to be a sideshow to a process taking place within the Department of Health to decide the future of mental health policy. In its terms of reference this committee is tasked with reaching cross-party agreement on the direction of mental health policy. We are, therefore, the primary body in existence for setting this agenda. Our task is to provide a vision for the future of mental health care in Ireland and we will do that in our final report in October. To be clear, I view this committee's remit as encompassing the oversight group's remit. We are not working in two separate areas. It is important, therefore, that the oversight group's work feeds into our work and that we are fully aware of the group's activity and the information available to it. Otherwise we might find ourselves at cross purposes, and the oversight group's efforts will not be fully effective if they cannot be adequately reflected in our report.

The procedure now is that members will have seven minutes each to ask questions and receive responses. I will start with Deputy Harty.