Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

There are two reasons. The first is the magnitude of additional funding that was provided to the health services last year. The Supplementary Estimate last year, in addition to the extra funding provided in budget 2019, amounted to just over €1 billion. This is the largest increase in funding to the health services in a single year in any of the budgets in which I have been involved. With regard to the Deputy's point on the profiling for the rest of the year, I am aware of this risk. While I argue that we will be better able to manage the risk because of the very significant additional funding received last year, the key metric I look at is growth in current spending as against spending in the same month of the previous year and what we have budgeted for the entire year. I look at where we are from a profiling perspective, but that is secondary. This is the best indicator as to the level of risk we face.