Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Minister is a very confused holder of his portfolio this morning. He should play back what he has just said. I fully accept that a patient advocacy agency is a requirement and the subject of one of the recommendations made in the Portlaoise hospital report. I also agree that it should be independent of the HSE. The current position where Patient Focus has performed this role and performed it well for many years is that it is directly funded by the HSE, which is inappropriate. We are ad idemin that respect. However, a patient safety authority is an entirely separate proposition.

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