Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I accept the thrust of Deputy Cowen's argument. I am not looking, nor will I present to the Deputy a narrative, to normalise this. Last year, where we ended up in terms of the scale of the Supplementary Estimate the Department received, combined with the budget allocation I made available to the Department, showed a significant improvement in comparison with where we had been the previous year. We saw a smaller Supplementary Estimate and we had seen a good budget allocation for it as part of budget 2017. I am not looking to normalise this. This is why I am taking care in answering questions put to me by the Deputy. Once I indicate what that figure is, that is what it becomes. As I put together the budget for 2019, I am taking a lot of time to focus on the figure for the existing level of service for the Department of Health. This is the figure that is needed to maintain all the services it has. I am taking a lot of care in agreeing that figure with the Minister for Health.