Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)

The Minister for Finance brought to the attention of the House yesterday a possible change to the estimated carryover of capital to 2006 for the Vote of the Health Service Executive. There has been justifiable concern but also considerable confusion and misunderstanding about this matter. I propose to set out what is fact and what is fiction, what the facts mean and what happens next. I want to avoid financial jargon to the greatest extent possible and to concentrate on substance over form, which is the basis of good accounting in any case.

The facts are as follows. The Oireachtas has provided for two Votes in the health area, Vote 39 for the Department of Health and Children and Vote 40 for the Health Service Executive. There are two Accounting Officers for the Votes, the Secretary General of the Department of Health and Children for Vote 39 and the chief executive officer of the Health Service Executive for Vote 40. The political responsibility for both Votes is mine, as Minister for Health and Children. The role of the Minister for Finance, as was evident yesterday, is to propose the Appropriation Bill to the House which includes provisions for carryover of capital funds from one year to another. It was entirely appropriate for him to make his statement to the House yesterday in that context and given that the Seanad is today hearing statements on the Appropriation Act.

The matter raised by the Minister for Finance yesterday relates solely to Vote 40, the HSE Vote. Throughout last year the HSE provided expenditure reports to the Department of Health and Children of spending against its budget, both current and capital. Last December, as is normal, the HSE provided an estimate of what spending would be for the year that was nearing its end. These were the forecast outturn figures for 2005. They indicated that they expected capital savings of approximately €56 million and current savings of approximately €12 million, that is a total gross saving of €68 million. Provision was, therefore, made in the Appropriation Act for a carryover of €56.4 million capital into 2006.

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