Mr. Colm Desmond:

The budget is set each year based on what is available and is agreed by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform for the Minister for Health. The 2018 budget was agreed in budget 2018 a year ago, and the health sector is required to manage within that. Regrettably, that did not prove to be the case and that has been a feature in recent years, but for the varying reasons I set out in my statement. It is a feature of an area that is under a fair degree of demographic pressure, although that is not a reason to fail to interrogate the reasons for that type of pressure. It is also an area where there are other factors, such as pressure in disability, older persons and other areas that the Deputy will be aware of, which are clear from the demand throughout the health service.