Máire Hoctor (Tipperary North, Fianna Fail)

The key priority for the Government and the Health Service Executive in dealing with serious budgetary pressures on the health services is to minimise the effect on services for patients to the greatest degree possible. The HSE is facing financial pressures arising in a large degree from the broader economic situation, an increase in the number of medical cards and lower receipts from the health levy. These cost pressures are factors outside the HSE's management control. However, while dealing with this, the executive is also clear that it must do all in its power to control costs within the planned profile of spending over the year. The HSE board met yesterday to consider these pressures and the executive will now work intensively with the Minister and her Department to manage this situation.

We will have to deliver more for a given level of resources and this will require the co-operation of all in the health sector. A key objective for the Health Service Executive in 2009 is to reduce overall costs to manage the delivery of activity targets as outlined and agreed in its national service plan for 2009. In this regard, hospital budgets across the network have been allocated in accordance with the overall budget available to the National Hospitals Office.

The profile of planned activity levels in the national service plan is designed to facilitate the cost reductions through the introduction of a number of expenditure control measures. In particular, there will be an emphasis throughout 2009 on the conversion of inpatient to day case activity, reducing the average length of stay for patients and improving the operational efficiency of outpatient departments.

With regard to Tallaght Hospital, the hospital is in discussion with the HSE in relation to its 2009 service plan. The shared objective is to ensure the highest quantum of service is provided within available financing and to ensure the service plan is delivered without impacting on front-line services. This approach is being replicated across each hospital network.

See this speech in context