Mr. Tony O?Brien:

It enabled the 2016 service plan to be delivered approximately on budget. The task given by the Oireachtas to the Health Service Executive is to receive the estimate set out on budget day, translate that into a service plan, migrate the service plan into implementation during the course of the year and live within budget. This was the first year in which that was possible, subject to the significant Revised Estimate as agreed by this Oireachtas.

As the Sláintecare report published by another Oireachtas committee has made clear, there are policy opportunities - which will be debated in due course by Government and the Oireachtas - to transform the way the health care system is organised. To change it subjectively-----