Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Secretary General and officials to the committee. I appreciate them coming before us to deal with issues in respect of health. While I am conscious that we are talking about percentages, existing levels of service, ELS, and, in some cases, billions, the real impacts of the decisions taken by Government just a couple of weeks ago are now being felt. They are being felt in the recruitment ban for nurses who want to return from Australia and people who had been offered permanent positions within the health service and who have now had those offers withdrawn. That is on top of the fact that we have far too many on waiting lists and trolleys every day.

I will start by seeking some understanding of the dispute within Government between the Minister for Health and the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform. I understand that, at the end of the day, Deputy Donohoe made the recommendation. What is the ELS provision in the budget for next year?