Michael Harty (Clare, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Mr. Paul Reid, director general of the HSE, has committed to balancing the books. The overrun in the health service this year will be €310 million lower than last year, if one is to believe the figures included in the Budget Statement yesterday. Something must have happened to reduce spending to that extent and I would like to know what it was, although I am not asking the question of the delegates today. One worries that the reduction has led to an increase in unmet needs. We are trying to find solutions. If the director general of the HSE is to balance the books, services must be reduced or the system reformed. Can the delegates demonstrate to the Minister that a restoration of consultant numbers and pay parity would reduce costs to the health service? Can they demonstrate a relationship between restoring pay parity and saving money in the health service? The HSE's service plan will be delivered in the next three or four weeks. It invariably starts off with a statement to the effect that the money the HSE has been given this year will present challenges in delivering services similar to what was delivered last year, as well as in coping with innovation and the development of services. A winter initiative will also be presented in the next few weeks. It will include the cessation of elective care in December and January in order to free up beds. That will lead to longer waiting lists. Will the delegates comment on the association's campaign for pay parity in the context of delivering cost savings to the HSE?