SEANAD REPORT:PRESSED BY Seán Barrett (Ind), Minister for Health James Reilly agreed to consider having members of the Irish Auditing and Accountancy Supervisory Authority participate in the auditing of HSE accounts.

The Minister initially rejected a proposed change to the Bill to establish a directorate to run the health services, but then relented following a strong intervention by Mr Barrett.

Mr Barrett, supported by John Crown (Ind), said there were huge budget over-runs in the HSE. The Minister was asking the House to restrict the choice of membership of an audit committee to the directorate, but they were the people who were so heavily enmeshed in red ink at this stage.

“I am not going to endorse them here.” Minister Reilly said that perhaps they could revisit the proposal when the Bill was going through the Dáil and get a modified form of words which would allow for some members of the body to which Senator Barrett had alluded to be on the HSE auditing committee.

Dr Reilly said he did not wish to insult people who were currently doing a good job in terms of auditing. The Minister said he would shortly be bringing to Cabinet the Ogden and PA Consulting reports. Their recommendations were being acted on. They concerned the necessity to have a sufficient number of people with necessary financial qualifications pertaining to the HSE.

Terry Leyden (FF) was strongly criticised over his claim that Minister for Justice Alan Shatter would not have authorised the repatriation of a convicted murderer and rapist to the Czech Republic if his victim’s family lived in the Minister’s constituency.