Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 26 May 2022

Public Accounts Committee

2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 38 - Health (Resumed)
Health Service Executive: Financial Statements 2020

9:30 am

Mr. Robert Watt:

-----and provide information in advance of the system being developed. I just want to mention that because sometimes I think we assume that the difficult business of allocating and delivery will somehow be made markedly easier or better when we have the new financial system; it will not. The new financial system will provide us with more timely information on an I and E basis to align better with the cash position each month and provide more granular detail on what is happening. However, the central challenge still remains. We are improving it in advance of the financial system. I do not I want it to give the impression - I am not saying that the Chairman does - that in some way we do not know where the money is going, we are not getting value for money or we cannot link money inputs and outputs. We can, but we need to get better. The system may help but it will not be a panacea in addressing that.