Marc MacSharry (Fianna Fail)

Last week during a motion on the Adjournment, I was in a position to uncover a level of unhealthy proximity and familiarity between HIQA and the HSE. Documents were finally made available to me as a result of directions by the Office of the Ombudsman. Today, we will see further evidence of this situation, as inconsistencies in HIQA have been found in respect of the 133 nursing homes it has surveyed. This information shows that the proximity and subjectivity within which the HSE and HIQA operate is similar to what occurred in terms of our economic meltdown, in that the regulatory authorities, the Central Bank as the overall authority and the service providers were operating with a level of familiarity and proximity that led to catastrophe. The details I have uncovered are borne out in today's The Irish Times in regard to the nursing home issue. If we allow this unhealthy situation to continue, it could compromise more than people's financial well-being.

I call for an urgent debate on governance standards within the HSE, an organisation that has €15 billion of the people's money Voted directly to it with no recourse to the Government or the people. Approximately €2.1 million went missing lately. This would put FÁS in the ha'penny place. I would also like a debate so we could evaluate the relationship between HIQA and the HSE-----