Barry Cowen (Offaly, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I wish to stay on the health figure. Nothing disappoints people more than hearing of such a large overrun in the Department of Health and they do not see it on the ground, especially when they are part of the unfortunate queues in waiting lists, home help hours and the delivery of other HSE services. Let us consider the recent history of this. Last year, for example, how much extra funding did the previous HSE chief, Mr. Tony O'Brien, seek from the Minister to keep the HSE standing still this year?