Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

A plan was agreed in the knowledge that there was a big figure there which the HSE did not know but which would be worked out during the course of the year. We are at this stage in the year and the HSE is down €140 million from the first charge that was not specifically mentioned in the service plan. The HSE is down €200 million for the first two months of the year, which was reported last week. The figure will be higher figure as the year goes on. The payments for the cervical check issue must not come out of the patient care budget. The HSE will have to provide additional resources for that otherwise it will be taken from the health services, which people would find unconscionable.

The HSE is already down several €100 million at this point of the year. It has not quantified the first charge and has already indicated that it is in an over-run situation. There is going to be another serious charge as a result of the cervical cancer issue which will have to be met upfront and the figure will be quite large before the year is out. As Chairman of the Committee of Public Accounts, I am concerned that it will not be long before we face the same issue that the health service is down hundreds of millions again.