Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

On Monday, the Minister for health wrote to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health and Children to advise that he would not now be attending tomorrow's scheduled meeting of the committee to discuss the HSE national service plan for 2014, because, as he said, it is still not ready. There is now the real possibility, uniquely, perhaps, that we will not have an opportunity to discuss the HSE service plan for 2014 in advance of the new year and its introduction, a bizarre situation.

The signing off and publication of the plan have already been delayed on several occasions. The Minister granted extensions to the HSE. I have to say that is not surprising because in budget 2014 the Government imposed cuts of at least €666 million on the health budget for the coming year. The Taoiseach knows this is unsustainable. I believe the Taoiseach has given his health Ministers, the Department and the HSE an impossible task. More important, he is imposing on front-line workers and patients within the health services an impossible burden. Can he tell us how it will be possible to maintain health services in 2014 on such a drastically reduced budget? All this, when, only yesterday, we had the publication of a Supplementary Estimate for a further €290 million in order for the Health Service Executive to be able to get to the end of this month. It is time to face the facts. I have it to say that there is grave concern.

It is reported that the director general of the HSE, Tony O'Brien, has written to the Government to state that the figure for medical card cuts in the draft service plan is in fact €133 million and not the €113 million as signalled in the Budget Statement. Moreover, the medical card cuts are against the advice of the HSE and the Department of Health. Can the Taoiseach confirm that letter and the figures it cites?

See this speech in context