Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)

It is also the case that a number of issues must be addressed for the remainder of this year, one being the repayments, which will be funded separately.

By way of general comment, the Government has not found €400 billion to bail out banks. What the Government has done is given a guarantee against a very strong asset base, a matter we will be debating in the House later today.

With regard to the health services Vote, like any other country where health services are funded by social insurance or private insurance, people must live within budgets. Public spending on health here has increased by 4.5 times in the past ten or 11 years, which is a considerable investment. There will be a 6% increase this year over last year in the number of home help hours.

The HSE produced a service plan, which I approved at the beginning of this year, and has given me an assurance it will meet all the targets provided for in that plan. However, we do not and cannot have the capacity for the provision of unlimited resources. The HSE, or for that matter any other State organisation, must live within the budgets that are voted through by the Oireachtas on an annual basis. To be frank, it is clear, given the financial challenges that face the country, that the position will be even more challenging next year.

I am not aware of any charges to be imposed on patients later this year or of any charges that could be imposed without my approval, and I have no intention of approving any additional charges for 2008. If the Deputy is being specific about an issue of which I am not aware, she should bring it to my attention. However, with regard to charges for beds, accident and emergency services or services of that kind, hospital charges require ministerial approval and cannot be imposed by the executive without ministerial approval.

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