Neasa Hourigan (Dublin Central, Green Party)
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Let us stay on capital expenditure and governance. I ask Mr. Watt to outline the oversight. His opening statement mentions hospital group boards being stood down and advisory groups. It is to be hoped we are in the process of moving to regional areas with Sláintecare. What oversight does the Department have on capital expenditure regarding both existing capital assets and new projects? This week the health committee dealt with the closure of the Owenacurra centre in Midleton. This decision seems to have been made entirely by the local agency in direct contravention of Government policy in A Vision for Change because it will leave east Cork with no mental health places.

There seems to be almost no oversight from the Department. It is some person in a room making a decision and they seem to be a law unto themselves. There is no comeback and no possibility to change it even though it is in breach of Government policy. Why is there so little oversight from the Department on decisions like that where a building is allowed to be run down to the state it is in? How does that fit into this new model that is being described to us?