Mr. Dean Sullivan:

Building on what Ms Magahy said, securing value for money with the significant resources given to the HSE each year is a key priority for the organisation. I will not repeat the points made by Ms Magahy but I will address one particular issue. One of the key issues for us is to have robust, comparable data and information on relative performance. We have made huge strides in that area in recent months in strengthening our understanding of that process and where the opportunities lie, particularly on the acute side of the house but less so on the community side because of some of the data deficits that exist. Maximising value for the taxpayer from the resources we are given remains a priority for us in the future.

The vast majority of agreements with section 39 organisations are typically made between the relevant section 39 organisation and a community healthcare organisation or, in exceptional cases, a hospital group.

The expectation would be that that is where the discussions are happening with regard to levels of service and appropriate funding for those. There are historical anomalies which have led to particular levels of funding being awarded, but the bulk of discussions, insight, understanding and changes to the pattern and volume of services happens very much at that level.