Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 14 November 2013

Public Accounts Committee

2012 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General
Chapter 22 - Eligibility for Medical Cards

11:50 am

Mr. Tom Byrne:

It was in review of the fact that an element of the €150 million was time-related. One cannot issue €150 million across the system and expect an immediate payback on it. As the Deputy said, negotiations on rosters, etc., need to be carried out. I made a decision at the time that it was appropriate for this to be done and that is what happened. As I have said, we agreed to a successful conclusion to the negotiations with Sunshine House on the savings it could deliver and those it can deliver in the future.