Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I am sorry to labour the point, but the figure of €346 million was identified. I fully take Mr. Mulvany's point that it is not the same as running a coffee shop, but when the HSE is asked to make savings, it surely has to be realistic. If the figure was €350 million, we might say it was someone rounding up or whatever else, but with such a specific figure, I would have expected Mr. Mulvany to be able to state the savings which had been identified. The HSE did not hit the targets set; it was miles wide, which is fine, but at least he should be able to provide some rationale for the figure. It seems €346 million was the sum the HSE thought it might hope to save. I am really at a loss to know how the figure was arrived at.