asked the Minister for Health the reason the North-Western Health Board are the only health board in the country which do not have medical representation on Comhairle na nOspidéal.

When I was considering the selection of members for appointment to Comhairle na nOspidéal I had to take a number of factors into account. I decided that, in principle, a number of places should be filled by new appointees as I believe that a policy of rotating membership is a correct one. I also tried to achieve an even spread of members from around the country and to have a representative balance between the various specialities. Furthermore, I received quite a number of nominations for membership from many bodies and it simply was not possible to appoint all of them.

The North-Western Health Board are represented on the comhairle by the board's chief executive officer and I am confident that the interests of hospital services in the area will be adequately served by him.

We are all well aware that Mr. Donal O'Shea is the appointee of the Minister. I feel there should be some medical representation from Sligo, Leitrim and Donegal on Comhairle na nOspidéal.

A question, Deputy, please.