Colm Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for being with us and for bringing forward this Bill, which is very welcome. I thank her for her announcement this morning of €30 million for nine projects around the country. One of those projects is in my old local electoral area of Knocknaheeny in Cork. I think €1.8 million is going in there and it is very welcome news for the area to give that support to parents and young children, and to give them that start that they need. It is a very good decision. It also provides an indication of the reform that she is bringing about, and this Bill is very much in that spirit, and we are now setting up new structures to deal with a very complex area.

There has been a very good debate on all aspects of the Bill. I would like to focus on one aspect under sections 56, 57 and 58 of the Bill in respect of the scrutiny of the engagement of services that are not under the control of the Department or the HSE, but which are independent agencies. I welcome the way this is drafted in section 56. I think it is very comprehensive in that it vests in the Minister the powers to make sure that there is adequate accountability. I have been dealing with this area over the last three months. Out of the health budget of €13.3 billion, €3.27 billion is paid out to 2,680 organisations. It is interesting to look at the appendix to the annual report of the HSE, where those 2,680 organisations are listed. It raises the question about the level of scrutiny, something that has already been raised recently, and whether there could more incidences of organisations working together.

Once the legislation goes through, the Minister will take over responsibility for funding a large number of the agencies. I read the appendix and noticed that 2,311 agencies receive less than €100,000 but that still adds up to a lot of money. A lot of agencies receive various amounts of funding ranging from the highest at €238 million down to €100,000. Each agency has an administrative structure and people who work on the ground.

I shall outline an issue regarding State agencies and quangos that arose in the lead-up to the last election. In the pursuit of reform, and I am not saying one can do so with legislation, we should encourage agencies to work together. To be fair, every one of the agencies have very dedicated and committed people who do a very good job. An awful lot of the people who work in the agencies work way beyond their call of duty in terms of service and quality of work. I do not in any way question their commitment. I just wonder whether we can achieve greater efficiency by encouraging people to work together, both the State and voluntary agencies. At the same time we could get better value for money and provide a more comprehensive service. That is what we should work towards which will not be easy to achieve.

I wish to extend my compliments to the people who drafted the Bill. I have gone through it with a fine tooth comb, particularly sections 56 to 59. The Department's level of scrutiny is welcome. The legislation is about accountability. It means that when the Department gets funding it will make sure that it delivers the service that it has been contracted to provide. I welcome the Bill and look forward to it being enacted. Reform is needed right across the board in the area and the legislation is just one of a number of steps that will be taken by the Minister. I thank her for the work she is doing. I thank her for announcing funding this morning which is important for the area and all of the other areas. I thank her for bringing forward the legislation.