Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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479. To ask the Minister for Health the reason her Department holds no independent records on the adequacy of the HSE's financial reporting, audit controls or compliance systems for voluntary hospitals, given that voluntary hospitals receive more than €7 billion annually in State funding; and if she will confirm whether any Department-led assurance, verification or risk assessment has taken place in the past three years, including a list of all such exercises, the year conducted, and the findings. [68754/25]

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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The governance of voluntary hospitals and HSE-funded providers, including the completion of governance reviews, financial audits and compliance assessments, is a matter for the HSE. These providers operate under Service Level Agreements (SLAs) with the HSE, which set out requirements for governance and compliance.

The Department of Health does not conduct these reviews of this nature directly. In line with the 2026 Letter of Determination, the Department sets policy, determines investment, and engages with the HSE on its Performance and Accountability Framework (PAF). This framework places responsibility on the HSE to ensure robust governance and compliance arrangements for funded providers.

This PQ has been referred to the HSE to respond with the requested details.