Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I want to move on to the second point I want to raise. On the HSE treasury management, the cash balance held by the HSE at the end of December 2020 was in the region of €812 million, which was an increase of €458 million on the 2019 balance of €354 million. The HSE states that this is equivalent to holding 13 days' cash for its normal day-to-day operations. I certainly find that figure astonishing. The HSE also stated in its advanced briefing, which we thank the witnesses for, that it would typically hold, on average, three to four days' cash for the year. The above balance was due to the final drawdown from the Exchequer based on the estimated year-to-year cash requirements. Can Mr. Reid outline the reasons behind the large increase in the HSE cash balance at the end of 2020?