Mr. Tony O'Brien:

The Freedom of Information Act has already brought into the public domain submissions and correspondence between the HSE and the Department of Health. This material reflects our aspirations on overall funding having regard to our underlying deficit and challenges in the year ahead. I do not have the numbers in my head but will provide the relevant correspondence as it is already in the public domain.

We set out the risks around this year's funding in the service plan. These have been described well, but to be even-handed, we must recognise that the Government has a ceiling on public expenditure. It does not have the discretion it might wish for when allocating budgets to any Department or service, including the HSE.