Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The health budget this year is €13.263 billion, with a capital fund of €357 million. The total savings identified this year are over €600 million. Everyone understands this will be a very challenging year for the health service. The Minister for Health, Deputy James Reilly, is operating with a budget of €3 billion less than in 2008 and 10,000 fewer staff. He is changing the structure of the costs of delivering health services, not the services. I reject Deputy Micheál Martin’s assertion that patient safety is not the Government’s priority. It is the absolute priority of the Government and the Minister.

I note the letter from the four hospital chief executives which was delivered yesterday. Clearly, the obligation and legal responsibility following the budget being delivered, as the Deputy will be aware, is for the HSE to prepare its service plan based on the budgetary figures. Owing to all of the challenges faced, the Minister has given extra time to the HSE to prepare the service plan which will be presented to the Minister on 15 November.

I note the end of the chief executive officers’ letter states: "We would urge that the implications of continuing in this vein be recognised and that constructive engagement with the hospitals in the budgetary formulation process be pursued." This will happen during the preparation and determination of the HSE service plan. I listened this morning to Mr. John McCormack of the Irish Cancer Society on “Morning Ireland” who indicated that he was not aware of the delays referred to in the same broadcast by a medical doctor. Cancer services are available for people on a regular basis to offer assistance and support.

Between January and August, the number of patients waiting on trolleys was down by 30% compared with the number in 2011. Consultants now see and discharge patients on a 24-7 basis which saves the State hundreds of millions of euro. That was an issue that was not tackled in the past. The biggest reorganisation of hospitals in the history of the State was announced in May. The HSE took a new approach to determining hospital budgets. For the first time ever, budget allocations were related to projected spend rather than historic budgets rolling forward from previous years. As a consequence, the Mater Hospital received an increase of 5.7% in its funding for 2013, while Tallaght hospital received a 2.8% increase. There was a reduction in funding for St. James’s Hospital and a slight reduction for Crumlin hospital. This year the budget figures for hospitals show a 3% increase. Hospital managers are expected to manage their funding on the figures they have received.

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