Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 16 September 2021

Public Accounts Committee

Financial Statement 2020 and Related Matters: HSE

9:30 am

Photo of Seán SherlockSeán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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I, too, join in thanking Mr. Reid and his colleagues throughout the HSE for the work that has been undertaken during this pandemic, for which there has been no playbook and no precedent. It was something that had to be managed in an emergency context and the level of care people received has, by and large, been excellent. I acknowledge that Mr. Reid has always made himself available to members of the Oireachtas on issues that have arisen throughout the pandemic. When certain matters arose within my constituency, they were responded to so I have to acknowledge that.

I will focus on non-compliance in procurement. The Comptroller and Auditor General's report states that the HSE is developing systems and is making significant improvements in that regard. That is to be acknowledged. I will focus on the more than €40 million that has been spent by the HSE to date across a range of services provided by Ernst & Young, PwC, Grant Thornton, Deloitte and KPMG, both pandemic related and non-pandemic related.

Does €40 million represent value for money for the taxpayer?