Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Would it be possible to send the high-level reconciliation to the committee? The way we account for expenditure has come in for criticism in the recent OECD report on public accounting in Ireland. This makes it difficult for policy-makers and legislators such as us to get a proper handle on the numbers. What I hear Mr. Mulvany saying is the single biggest reason is the Exchequer returns are cash based - money in and money out - whereas the figure the HSE reported of a deficitof €116 million is actually a more accurate measure because it takes account of known liabilities that have not yet been paid. It is based on accruals.