Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

HSE board membership was debated by the Select Committee on Health and amendments Nos. 6 to 10, inclusive, and 35 to 37, inclusive, were made on Report Stage in the Dáil following the Committee Stage debate. The Dáil amendments relate to the board and include health professional membership.

Amendment No. 8 from the Dáil provides that at least one of the persons appointed to the board must be a person who is practising, or has practised, as a member of a health profession, whether in this country or elsewhere. Under Amendment No. 10 from the Dáil, health professional is defined to mean doctors, nurses, midwives, dentists, pharmacists and the health and social care professions regulated under the Health and Social Care Professionals Act 2005. Board membership was increased by one. The other amendments on Report Stage in the Dáil in this grouping were consequential to this.

We have a further set of amendments today relating to board membership arising from the Dáil amendments. During Report Stage in the Dáil I was asked by nearly all sides of the Chamber, including the Sinn Féin Party and the Fianna Fáil Party, to look at further increasing the representation on the board to ensure there were two positions for health care professionals and to ensure there was a specifically dedicated seat for financial expertise. During Report Stage in the Dáil I committed to bringing in amendments to increase the number of health professionals on the board from one to two. This is reflected in a new Seanad amendment, amendment No. 3. I also committed to bringing an amendment to expressly provide for a person with financial expertise on the board. This is the new amendment No. 4.

Arising from these amendments, amendment No. 1 increases the number of ordinary members from nine people to ten people. Amendment No. 2 is a technical drafting amendment to take account of the inclusion of the new provision on financial expertise in amendment No. 5.

Amendments Nos. 5, 7, 8 and 9 are consequential to the increase in board membership and cover the quorum for the board and arrangements for calling board meetings.

Amendment No. 6 is a typographical change for consistency with other parts of the Bill.

As I have outlined, these new amendments arise from debate in the Dáil and reflect commitments that I gave there. Effectively, they ensure that two seats on the board are dedicated for health professionals and that there is express provision for a seat for a person with financial expertise on the board. I also wrote to the Chairman of the Oireachtas health committee informing him and the committee of my intention to make these changes in the Seanad to fulfil a commitment I gave across the political divide.