Marc MacSharry (Fianna Fail)

I accept the response of the Minister of State but I do not like it. It is worth remembering it was at the invitation of the State that these people provided the services. Applying the basic business common sense I may have, I do not see how we expected Wisdom Services to run a deficit they would subsidise from the religious order and at the same time, in spite of the fact that they did this more cheaply and cost effectively than the HSE can do directly, how we expect a third party or the HSE to be able to take over this service, do as good a job with fewer resources and not run a deficit. I do not see how that is possible. If the Minister of State wishes to take upon herself to engage directly with the Daughters of Wisdom I am sure they could be convinced or influenced to stay on and continue the service if a way can be found to ensure that adequate funding can be made available. Along with the Minister of State, I believe there is a solution. For that reason, I say to her that outside the Department of Health and beyond the office of the Minister, there is an agenda at work that may not be the purest. I hate to see such an excellent service used as a pawn in a game that does not at all involve them.