Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Since my appointment as Minister for Health, I have sought to put in place a realistic budget for health and social care. Improved budgetary parameters reflecting the growing strength of the economy have enabled me to secure additional funds for health and social care in 2015 and 2016. The gross current Estimate for the health sector for 2016 is €13.175 billion, an increase of €880 million on the Revised Estimate for 2015. In addition, potential savings of €125 million will be available to reinvest in maintaining and improving health services. While I welcome the increase in funding for the health services in 2016, I do not underestimate the challenges involved in the delivery of safe and efficient health services against a backdrop of growing needs. It is essential that we continue to focus on cost containment, productivity and efficiencies as there continues to be major cost pressures on the health service due to an increase in our aging population, the incidence of chronic conditions and the cost of new and expensive medicines, treatments and technologies.

I also recognise the need to strengthen accountability and good governance across the health service. The HSE has an accountability framework which makes explicit the responsibilities of all managers to achieve the performance targets set out in each year's service plan. Where areas of underperformance are identified, the matter is escalated according to an escalation and intervention process. The HSE’s 2016 national service plan will detail how the executive intends to develop and build on the accountability framework in 2016 to further enhance and strengthen accountability arrangements next year. The HSE will also engage in internal efforts to maximise savings and opportunities for cost containment and ensure that additional measures are identified and safely implemented to mitigate any projected deficits.

My Department will continue to work closely with the HSE to ensure that the greatest degree of budgetary control is exercised. Ongoing and intensive engagement each month between officials of my Department, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and the HSE, in the context of regular monitoring of expenditure, will continue to be enhanced as required in 2016.

New EU fiscal rules limit the amount of Government expenditure in any year. Therefore, any overruns need to be funded by new revenue measures, or reallocating funds from elsewhere. This is likely to mean, in practice, reduced scope to allocate additional money to Departments by way of a Supplementary Estimate at year end. Accordingly, the planning and management of health expenditure will be subject to particular attention in finalising the 2016 national service plan.

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