Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Is it still the Minister's intention to maintain a governance structure similar to that of the HSE? She mentioned that the agency will be answerable to its new director, Mr. Gordon Jeyes. Will it be directly answerable to the Minister of the day? Political accountability is crucial in this regard. I raised this issue when the Minister launched the agency earlier in the summer. Given that the HSE is disbanding its current governance structure, it is regrettable that the Department of Children and Youth Affairs is seeking to develop a similar structure in this instance. The Minister has said that the new agency will have a budget of approximately €590 million per annum. Will the new agency start with a clean bill of health? I hope that a deficit will not have to be carried by the new agency as it begins its work. That would not be a welcome move.

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