David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I refer to the briefing note we got from the Department. I have a number of issues relating to it. There are two parts to my questions. Obviously, this meeting is about the Estimates and the funding that is available to the health service for 2024. I will not go over the old ground we covered after the budget in respect of the lack of funding for ELS and new measures, the role played by the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform and all that. If I were to do so, we would just have the same discussions. We are not going to reach any agreement on it, even though if the Minister were to be honest, he would accept there are funding challenges.

The second element I wish to discuss is service delivery. I recognise the progress that has been made but there are issues I wish to tease out that are not covered in the briefing note but are really important from a reform perspective. The briefing document states that there is a risk the funding provided at the time of the Estimate may be insufficient to meet the actual level of demand.