Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The following is the picture. There is a significant deficit. The contract is sent. There may be some form of minimal negotiation. The contract has to be signed. If not, a 20% cut is imposed. As a result, organisations have to fund their operations in a different way, which means they have a larger deficit. As a consequence of that, some organisations are now coming under increasing pressure and, even in January, require to get advances from the HSE. The HSE is providing millions of euro in loans to fund the gap created by the funding deficit as regards the equation versus actual service provision. As a consequence of that, there are examples of the HSE putting in other funds to keep service provision in operation where organisations are in very serious situations. Following on from that, the deficits keep growing year on year as a consequence of what I just said, and there is no end in sight.