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

It will be explored further, but I do not believe it will be possible to do it in this Bill.

Amendments Nos. 21 to 23, inclusive, are essentially technical and relate to the service planning process. Under section 31 of the Health Act 2004, the HSE must submit a service plan within 21 days after the Government publishes the Estimates for that financial year or in such other period that the Minister may allow.

The Bill as passed by the Seanad allowed the Minister to direct the director general to prepare and submit a service plan if the HSE has failed to submit a service plan in accordance with various provisions of the section. This is based on similar provisions in the Health Act 2004 regarding the CEO. However, the intention in the 2004 Act was that the CEO, and under this Bill, the director general, would be directed to prepare and submit a service plan only if the HSE had not submitted one in the specified time period and not for other reasons. This is now clarified by amendment No 21. Amendment No. 23 provides that the director general must comply with such a direction.

On amendment No. 22, section 31(8) of the Health Act 2004 provides that, within 21 days after receiving a service plan, the Minister must either approve the plan or issue a direction to amend the plan. As Senators are aware, this Bill amends section 31. Under the Bill, the Minister must, having consulted the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, take one of the following steps: approve the service plan in the form in which it was submitted; approve the service plan with such amendments as the Minister, having consulted the HSE, may determine; or issue a direction to the HSE to amend the plan. However, no time period was specified within which the Minister must take one of the three steps I have set out. To address that situation, Amendment No. 22 provides that the Minister must act within 21 days of receiving the service plan from the HSE. This time period is in line with current provisions of the 2004 Act.

For completeness, I should add that it is intended that the requirement for the Minister to consult the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs will be repealed in future legislation having regard to the legislation establishing the child and family agency.

Amendments Nos. 24 to No 30, inclusive, relate to provisions for the audit committee for the HSE provided for under this Bill. Amendment No. 24 is concerned with membership of the HSE's audit committee. It takes on board points made by Senator Barrett when the Bill was previously before this House that the audit committee needs to have the right type of membership to enable it to perform its important functions. I recall that Senator Burke also had similar concerns.

It is clearly the case that given the nature and role of the audit committee, a wide range of skills and experience are essential among its membership, including persons with auditing and accounting skills. As I said at the time, I appreciated the sentiment behind the amendment that was moved by Senator Barrett and seconded by Senator Crown. Consequently, I introduced an amendment in the Dáil to ensure that express reference is made to people with professional qualifications in auditing or accounting. That is the purpose of amendment No. 24 which provides that at least one of the audit committee members must hold a professional qualification in accountancy or auditing.

Amendment No. 25 is designed to give the audit committee a role in advising the directorate on financial matters relating to its functions. This is in addition to the role that the audit committee has in advising the director general. As the provision previously stood in the Bill, the role of the audit committee was focussed exclusively on the director general, who will be the Accounting Officer. However, I believe it is appropriate that the audit committee should also have a role in advising the directorate on financial matters relating to its functions, for example, on the annual financial statements of the HSE. Amendment No. 25 provides for that role.

Amendments Nos. 26 and 28 to 30, inclusive, are technical amendments, renumbering subsections consequential on the widening of the committee's functions by virtue of amendment No. 25.

Amendment No. 27 is a technical amendment to correct a reference in section 40I(2)(b) of the Act as introduced by the Bill passed by the Seanad by replacing the reference to "the Executive" with a reference to "the Director General". The section refers to advice on complying with section 22 of the Exchequer and Audit Departments Act 1866 and section 19 of the Comptroller and Auditor General (Amendment) Act 1993. Compliance with these sections relates to Accounting Officers. The amendment was therefore required because it is the director general who is the Accounting Officer under the Bill and who must comply with the legislation in question.