Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy is correct in that there was significant public concern regarding this situation, which I heard loudly and clearly. That told us that while we have invested significant resources in the past in facilities that we have not necessarily owned, the public want that to change now. That is why I have set up a group chaired by Dr. Catherine Day and including Professor Jane Grimson and Professor Deirdre Madden to examine the relationship between the voluntary and the public health service. I am very pleased they are doing that good body of work.

I am not endeavouring to be vague, I am just endeavouring to be careful because of the fact that the legal agreement is pending finalisation. The Deputy will be well aware that often we could see a lease or a licence of a site granted at a nominal or peppercorn rent. We could see a lien put in place, which is the normal course of action, to protect the State's investment. The issue that was very clear, which I believe the Deputy raised, among many others, was on whose balance sheet would the asset sit. I am being very clear in saying the asset will sit on the State's balance sheet. That is what I want the agreement to be.

In terms of sequencing, I am more than happy to have this issue debated in the Dáil. The approval process is one for myself and specifically for the HSE, but I will brief Government also before there is any further progress.

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