Mr. Paul Reid:

The Deputy is correct. There is signficant demand for services, not just from section 39 providers. Section 39 providers account for about 28% of the total €5.4 billion grants to section 38 and 39 organisations. Many section 39 organisations have deficits and are having issues with demands for services exceeding funding. It is a big challenge across the health service. We engage with the organisations. Comparing 2020 with 2019, significant extra funding was provided to recognise the Covid demands on all section 38 and 39 organisations.

I fully understand the issue the Deputy is raising. We receive those requests on a regular basis. We allocate funding based on Government funding in the Estimates and the budget, based on the national service plan. Those demands are increasing, particularly for section 39 providers, but we can only allocate the funding to the extent that we have it. The demands on all of our services are a big challenge. We receive them, review them and allocate to the best extent we can.