James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy is absolutely right; there are 43 section 38 agencies. All of this arose out of the HIQA report into Tallaght hospital, during the course of which we discovered alternative streams of payment which led us to a broader audit of the entire sector. This took some time, as the Deputy knows. With regard to the formulation of boards, strong recommendations came out of the inquiry following the appointment of Sir Keith Pearson to the board of Tallaght hospital. He is an expert in the NHS on governance. While I have great sympathy with the view that a member of the clientele or community should be on the board, he was absolutely clear, and I fully agree, that no member of staff should be on it. A member of staff can be on a board of governors but not on the board that supports the management of a hospital. In the past this has led to difficulties. This is the new template we use. We look at the various competencies required and we have a grid. If somebody does not meet the competencies on the grid, or the grid shows a deficit in competencies on the board, such as no one on the board having legal or financial competency, these must be addressed.

As is the Deputy, I am strongly in favour of the idea that a member of the clientele of a body such as the CRC should definitely be on the board, as should members of the community. These can be represented through the competencies but not necessarily exclusively so. We have made a huge leap forward in transparency and competencies on boards, and our health service will be the better for it. With regard to section 38 and section 39 agencies, we will have a better service for the people as a consequence.

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