Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

Last week I highlighted the farcical situation in the Department of Health and in the health services generally, with health officials sitting on the board of the HSE for very tense meetings in which, acting as health officials one day and HSE board members another day, they are not in a position to agree with each other, and a serious budget overrun which was at €250 million by the end of May and is projected to run to €500 million by the end of the year. All of that was a direct result of the Minister's decision to get rid of the HSE board without putting anything in its place, which created a significant vacuum at the heart of decision-making in the health services. The results will be serious for those on the front line and will be serious for patients by the end of the year.

The CEO of the HSE argued cogently to this House and to the Oireachtas committees that the Minister for Health, Deputy Reilly, did not fulfil his side of the Estimate arrangements. I described the Estimate as dishonest, and I hold by that. Quite simply, there were figures of €141 million for revenue generation from private insurers and €100 million from drug pricing, as well as a figure for agency staff, which were not based on valid assumptions. The legislation for private insurance has not yet been produced although the session is nearly finished. It is a complete mess and it is unacceptable.

This morning we learn that the CEO of the HSE is to resign. He is a highly regarded individual with considerable integrity who was placed in an impossible position by the Minister on the budget, management and organisation of the HSE. Has he been shoved out by the Minister?

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