Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

There is an obvious question all Oireachtas Members will ask the witnesses, which concerns the Supplementary Estimate of €655 million for 2018. What would have happened to the delivery of health services if that additional funding had not been given? Is it the case that the provision of those services had been predicated heretofore on the assumption of receipt of a large Supplementary Estimate? Had we not received the corporation tax bonanza, the Oireachtas might not have been able to allocate those additional moneys. I agree with Mr. Reid that the HSE needs to live within its budget, though others might disagree, but I am wondering what would happen to the delivery of services if the executive were obliged to adhere to its Estimate. The silence from the witnesses suggests they might be thinking, "Perish the thought". That gives rise to the question of whether we are being presented with genuine Estimates and if there is always an expectation of a back door to additional funding. It is not good for the HSE or the Department of Health to seek more money every year.

On a related matter, it came up in correspondence to the committee last week that the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform is now involved in a budgetary oversight group or committee. Is that the Cabinet sub-committee that issues quarterly reports or some other committee? We were going to write to the HSE to inquire what the new monitoring system referred to in the correspondence comprises. Will the witnesses clarify what is involved?