Robert Dowds (Dublin Mid West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The topic I raise relates to the need to ensure the boards of section 38 health organisations are representative of all stakeholders. It is an obvious one because of some of the cases that have come to light. As a member of the Committee of Public Accounts, I heard representatives of the Central Remedial Clinic, CRC, and the board of St. Vincent’s University Hospital explain themselves. While issues definitely arise in terms of pay, one of the things that struck me was the way the boards had been constituted. I worked in a school that was under the patronage of the CRC; therefore, I have some personal experience of it. These organisations have boards which do not in any way represent their clients and staff. The Government should use its clout to ensure all section 38 bodies have boards which represent the organisation effectively and which are fit for purpose. I have no doubt that if one trawls through all section 38 organisations, some of them will have good, effective boards, but we must put down a marker to ensure best practice is followed. The fact that most of the money the organisations receives comes from the State puts us in a good position to ensure this happens in the sense that he who pays the piper calls the tune. We have an opportunity to improve the position.

The first board that comes to mind is that of the CRC because it and the board of the Friends and Supporters of the CRC have now resigned and something must be done about the situation. I understand the HSE has been talking to an organisation called Boardmatch Ireland which is working on constituting a new board for the CRC. How that pans out might be instructive on how the situation will develop. The problem arises because many of the organisations – the CRC is a good example, while Enable Ireland is another – started off as charitable organisations with the very best of motives on behalf of those who worked for them. Many of those involved were working voluntarily. The position changed fundamentally when the State began to fund these organisations. Therefore, the old model under which they had operated was no longer appropriate. The issue should have been tackled previously, but the revelations about the CRC, St. Vincent’s University Hospital and, I suspect, other organisations give us an opportunity to make a new start. I am interested in hearing the response of the Minister.

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