Mr. Paul Reid:

Sorry, I was not going to answer until the Deputy was finished. I wish to restate my earlier point. I will not disagree with what the Deputy said in terms of the passion she demonstrated quite rightly in her role as a parliamentarian. From our perspective in the HSE, we work across inter-agencies. We put pressure on ourselves and other agencies to deliver with us. There is no doubt that it is a more complex process because we are, exactly as the Deputy describes, relying on an inter-agency process. I know the ombudsman has set out some of the key issues in terms of cross-departmental work.

I have worked in Departments. I have been involved in reports in the past about strengthening capacity and Departments working together. From our perspective in the HSE, we are committed to working with our Department and other Departments to resolve this issue. I wish to state again that our commitment to making this better is solid. Our passion to make this better is strong. This is an issue that will be worked at hard for the next few years. People might not like to hear that, but it will take that period. It will take a plan each year, which the team has been working on, to make things better. I fully accept the assessments we did were according to the procedure set out and, last year, we did an increased number compared to the number we have done in many years. That is the progress I want to see. That is the progress my team is also committed to seeing. We share the Deputy's passion. We do not like it when things are wrong. We want to see it fixed. It will take time.