Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It is part of the budgetary process to look at all expenditure heads. They are looked at by my colleague, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform. I think everybody knows that there have been difficulties in health but in a very big budget, the kind of deficits it has run from a percentage point of view are quite small relative to a budget of €13.2 billion. In respect of the Deputy's earlier accusation that we are ignoring what is the legal position, the aim is to have a balanced budget in the way we define it but part of the definition is to allow for the business cycle, which can be plus or minus a half percent around zero but not necessarily zero. That is what is meant by balance. The only disagreement between us is on definition.