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

I cannot provide the House with any specific budgetary commitments today and, for reasons Members understand, will be unable to do so until the Estimates and budget are published. Health budget priorities are, ultimately, not decisions for the Department of Finance. They are decisions for the Department of Health and the HSE, which have the largest budget in the history of the State for health and social care. Ultimately, prioritisation within any budget is not a matter for the Department of Finance, rather it is a matter for the line Department and, in this case, the HSE.

See this speech in context