Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)

The revelation yesterday of a massive accounting blunder by the Health Service Executive came eight days after the HSE told the Department of Health and Children it wished to alter the figures previously presented in the Dáil in the context of the Appropriation Bill. This is how the matter came to light according to the Minister for Finance yesterday. The question must be asked as to why it was not announced as soon as it became known. Why was it not put before the Dáil in a proper manner by way of an appropriate motion, amending legislation or Supplementary Estimate? As was pointed out earlier, the use of a personal statement by the Minister for Finance for this purpose is clearly contrary to Standing Orders. If a member of the Opposition attempted to do this, he or she would be ruled out of order.

The bigger question is how such an error could have occurred and what it says about health service governance in this State. It is shambolic to say the least. It is another blow for the credibility of the Government and its health policy and management, and for the credibility of the HSE which was established with such fanfare. The Government used the HSE as a shield to deflect criticism from itself over the rolling crisis in our public health services. Today that tactic has come back to haunt the Government, which has used the HSE to reduce its own accountability to the Dáil on the health services. As I stated this morning, we now have a situation, as exposed in reply to a Dáil question I asked, where approximately 46% of Dáil questions tabled to the Tánaiste as Minister for Health and Children are referred to the HSE. That compares to a figure of less than 30% to the health boards when they were established.

Coming on top of the PPARS scandal, this blunder further undermines public confidence. This is dangerous at a time when the Government is in alliance with the private health business, clearly to the comfort of the Tánaiste, and is pursuing a privatisation strategy in our health services. There are those who will use blunders such as this to undermine the principle of public provision of health care. That principle must be maintained, despite the efforts of the Tánaiste and her colleagues to shift the entire emphasis in our health care structure.

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