Sheila Terry (Fine Gael)

Will the Minister of State explain how independent a complaints officer can be as an employee of the Health Service Executive? Would it not be better and more independent if that person were outside the Health Service Executive, or even from another health service area? This would strengthen the legislation and ensure that complainants really would get an independent assessment. Nobody wants to question how independent an individual may be, but safeguards should be provided. In this context, has the Minister of State considered whether the independence of a complaints officer might be better served if he or she came from outside the relevant health service executive area? Perhaps an ombudsman could be appointed in this regard.