James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I understand the concern underlying amendment No. 2, that the Minister will not be able to act fast enough or that he or she may have to wait until the HSE has failed to take account of policy before he or she can issue a direction under section 10(1)(c). The provision, as drafted, would not result in this scenario. Section 10(1)(c) balances the Minister's responsibility for policy with the HSE's responsibility for operational matters. The HSE has responsibility under the Health Act 2004 for the provision of health and personal social services. However, the HSE also has a statutory obligation to have regard to ministerial and Government policies and objectives when performing its functions. The HSE, similar to any statutory agency, is expected to fulfil its statutory functions. Section 10(1)(c) should not, therefore, need to be used often but is intended as an additional power for the Minister to use when it is needed.

The new ministerial power should also be seen in the context of the proposed new accountability arrangement for the HSE whereby the HSE is accountable to the Minister for the performance of its functions. That means it will have to explain its decisions and actions to the Minister. This will help in ensuring that the Minister can act in an effective and timely way in regard to issuing a direction under section 10(1)(c). It should help to avert a situation where section 10(1)(c) needs to be used.

If the Senator withdraws the amendment, and rather than put it to a vote, I will seek further Parliamentary Counsel advice on the matter. I do not believe that it will be necessary but I will come back to the matter on Report Stage.

With regard to amendment No. 2, I am concerned that there could be too many reports on compliance regarding a single direction and their publication could lead to confusion. An overall picture of service matters would be available from performance reports against the service plan and from the HSE's annual report. There is already a legal requirement for the HSE to publish its service plan and annual report. Therefore, I do not propose to accept these amendments.