Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 9 July 2019

Committee on Budgetary Oversight

Budget Management and Control of Health Expenditure in the context of Budget 2020: Discussion

Mr. Stephen Mulvany:

I will have it checked. As my colleague said, it is some time since one was formally adopted or approved by the Department. Obviously, the capital plan we submit is adopted by the HSE beforehand.

One key point to be noted is that of the €640 million in capital we have this year, approximately 75% is for construction and pre-committed. It is rolling and the projects are proceeding. The buildings are being refurbished or built and equipment is being bought. The new capital plan or the new iteration of it - they are all multi-annual in a given year - is about moving on new projects or existing ones from one phase to the next. The vast bulk of the money is already contractually committed for an existing series of projects which are not being delayed or waiting for approval. They are moving ahead.