Marc MacSharry (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

We will press the amendment to a vote. On Second Stage, I asked whether the Titanic, if it had been called the Olympic, would have stayed afloat. As Senator Power has said, while nobody is specifically saying that any of the current directors of the HSE are not capable, qualified or the best people for their various jobs, whether in mental health or in the other directorates, the reality is that we cannot stand over a process that effectively legislates to establish a new agency - a better structure - with the same people at the helm.

There will be no public confidence in the system. This is a charade if we are merely, to use the phrase used on Second Stage, "moving the deckchairs around the Titanic" or changing the name. Do we still want Captain E.J. Smith to steer the boat, expecting that his time it will skip around the iceberg? The reality is that the Minister will need to be able to stand over this process and to be exceptionally confident that "X" is the correct person to be the director of mental health services and so on. The process must be open and allow applications from other people.

The Minister stated there will be no expense incurred in putting in place this legislation. It is hoped that in order to avoid expense, a decision was made to have no recruitment process, which if not managed correctly can cost a significant amount of money, with everyone sliding into the various jobs, as was done in respect of Mr. O'Brien, CEO of the HSE. I do not think this gives rise to public confidence. I am not suggesting the people concerned would not sail through the recruitment process. However, it is in the public interest that the process is robust and transparent in terms of the appointment of people with the required experience and qualifications. This, in turn, will ensure the people appointed are assured of the people being behind them. This will not be the case in this regard. Regardless of how qualified those appointed are, confidence in them will be undermined by this process.