Ms Ashley Connolly:

That is a very important point. Through an FOI request, we asked for a breakdown of the costs being paid to for-profit companies for the delivery of consultancy services. Rather than actually give us that breakdown, the HSE directed us back to its annual report of 2023. That is the only figure we have. We are concerned that is not the full extent of the spend and extremely concerned that it may be much higher than the €79 million. The HSE needs to invest in its own staff. We do not know what that service is for. We do not know where the benefits to actual service delivery can be gained by spending over €79 million, if not more than €100 million which is what our fear is. A lot of questions need to be asked of the HSE as to why we are spending tens of millions of euro on private, for-profit companies. This is something we have raised on numerous occasions with the HSE. We have sought clarity and transparency on it but unfortunately it is falling on deaf ears. From our members' perspective, every time there is a new initiative there is a member from a consultancy firm in attendance at these seminars and briefings.

We do not know why such people have to be there. We have asked the HSE directly and to date those clarifications have not been forthcoming. The question of why this money is being spent in this direction is, I think, of significant concern to this committee and those who rely on the services.