Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)

This may well throw light on the freedom of information disclosures before Christmas of the correspondence from Professor Drumm about his inability to spend more current account money in regard to staff in the Health Service Executive. This requires a major statement of explanation. It is not good enough for the Minister to leave it until the end of February, when the Revised Estimates for expenditure will be produced. The Minister must account to the House under the budgetary process for this major and unprecedented error. I remind him that my colleague, Deputy McManus, queried whether or not the head of the HSE should immediately become Accounting Officer because of the confusion that is ongoing in regard to health expenditure in this country. We deserve to be able to debate this matter.

I thank the Minister for providing this information to the House but it is deeply inadequate. It is a major error to confuse current and capital spending on health.

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