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

Section 16E provides for the appointment of a director general under subsection (4). While the first director general will be appointed by the Minister, subsequent directors general will be appointed by the Minister following a recruitment process under the Public Service Management (Recruitment and Appointments) Act 2004. I note that subsection (4) is not unique. There are precedents in legislation to provide that the first person who is appointed to an office may be appointed by a Minister, as envisaged under subsection (4). These include legislative provisions for the charities regulatory authority, the Residential Institutions Statutory Fund Board, the qualifications and quality assurance authority of Ireland and the National Tourism Development Authority. In my view, the use of this provision is the most practical way to advance the new directorate arrangements.

In response to Senator Byrne, who claims there has been no action, there has been a lot of action. There has been an 85% reduction in the number of people who wait a year for an inpatient procedure. There has been a 91% reduction in the number of people who wait nine months or longer. There has been an 18% reduction in those who wait three months or longer for an inpatient procedure. The number of people who are obliged to endure long trolley waits is more than 16,000 smaller than was the case last year. A stroke programme has been put in place which is saving one life a week, as well as pre-empting the need for three others to end up in long-term care per week. A transitional care programme is being rolled out, which affords people who are older and frail a much better service in so far as they will be admitted to a specialist ward where their medical problems will be dealt with and they can commence their rehabilitation immediately. If this will take longer than three or four days, they can move to a transitional facility in which it can continue for up to ten weeks. Moreover, if it becomes apparent early on that they will need long-term care, such care will be available in a transitional setting until they find a place of their choice. Consequently, I must completely reject the contention that nothing has been done. More has been done within the past 18 months than was done in the previous ten years.