Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome our guests and thank them for their submissions. Much is made of the embargo as a reason for the cessation or the lack of services at the moment but there was quite a considerable extension of spending before the embargo came in, to the extent that a number of Ministers called out the fact that there was a danger of runaway spending that could become very threatening to the entire services at a later stage. What was the priority rating of the requirements that Ms Rogers mentioned in terms of their importance to be dealt with as a matter of urgency in the course of the pre-budgetary discussions and the post-budgetary situation? How important were the requirements and the impact they would have on the general health service by virtue of arresting or attending to the symptoms of the various patients?