Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am confident that within the resources available to the different Departments the commitments we have made in the ratification of the UN convention can be met for this year. It is a key priority for the Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Finian McGrath, and I will certainly work with him to make available what is needed for implementation of the convention next year.

When the Secretary General referred to rationing, the point he was making - correctly - was that every single Department had a budget for the year. On the calls for further resources for the health service, we have to recognise that the total allocation for the Department of Health this year is €14.9 billion, an increase of 3.6% from last year. It was a very significant increase on what was already a very large budget.

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