Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

With Sinn Féin it is the crisis du jour. Discussions between my Department and all Departments on the issue of expenditure take place very regularly. The Department of Health is no different. At ministerial level there is the Cabinet committee on health and at official level there is a senior officials group on health where discussions on all health and health funding issues take place regularly. In addition, there are regular informal communications between officials of both Departments, heightened in the run-up to the budget. Such engagement is an important component in the process of providing a well-resourced health system.

This has led to health sector funding been prioritised and protected during the lifetime of the Government. Budget 2016 increased the gross health expenditure to €13.61 billion, a €970 million, or 7.7%, increase over the final 2011 spend. Such ongoing communication also resulted in the Government providing additional resources in 2015 for the fair deal scheme, for example, emergency department overcrowding and winter initiatives.

Something the House might note is that since the start of 2014 up to the end of November 2015 - the last time I had the figures - the HSE has recruited an additional 6,321 staff, an increase of 6.5%. This includes an additional 965 doctors and more than 1,000 additional nurses, again emphasising the Government's commitment to a well-resourced health care system.

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