We have two items with which to deal concerning correction and clarification of comments made at two previous meetings of the joint committee. In regard to correspondence from the Parents for Justice group, the joint committee has agreed to read the following letter received by it from Ms Laverne McGuinness, national director, primary, community and continuing care, Health Service Executive, on comments she made about the Parents for Justice group during a meeting of the joint committee held on 6 March 2008 to correct the public record.
Ms Laverne McGuinness's letter, which was addressed to the former Chairman, the Minister of State, Deputy Moloney, reads as follows:
Dear Chairman
I refer to my attendance, together with the Minister and Professor Drumm, before the Committee on Thursday 6th March 2008.
I have since received correspondence from Parents for Justice, indicating that they have interpreted my comments to the Committee as meaning that funds had been misappropriated by Parents for Justice. I understand that concern has also been expressed by Parents for Justice that other parties might similarly interpret my statements in this way, having regard to the fact that the proceedings before the Committee are on record in a transcript on the Oireachtas website.
I have already written to Parents for Justice to assure them that it was not my intention to convey any such impression to the Committee, and for the record I wish to make clear that I did not and do not suggest that any monies had been misappropriated.
The joint committee also received a letter from the Irish Medical and Surgical Trade Association asking it to correct the record in regard to misinformation given by it during its meeting with us on 16 June 2009. At that meeting, it incorrectly referred to the timeframe for payments for commercial transactions in the public and private sectors under the Prompt Payment of Accounts Act 1997 as 45 days. It wishes to correct the record and state that the correct timeframe is 30 days.