Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I think Deputy Kevin Humphreys. I agree wholeheartedly that these are significant sums of money that could be expended on front-line services but they are held in abeyance because of a lack of will from certain ranks within the health sector and, perhaps, bureaucratic difficulties associated with the payment process. The Minister for Health, Deputy Reilly, has prioritised the solution to the problem. I referred to the opportunity for a second consultant to sign off on an insurance claim, the electronic claims management system, which will shortly be in place in 11 sites, and the ongoing work with health insurers to set up an accelerated income collection process. One can only conclude from the response that these measures will be put in place quickly and will serve to address the issue. I have a funny feeling that, this time next year, we will not have such a substantial amount of money outstanding.

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