Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

If we in the Dáil vote the Minister a certain amount of money - last year it was north of €15 billion - and the HSE comes to the Minister and tells him it cannot deliver the service plan for the amount of money the Minister has got from the Dáil, the Minister has three choices. He can come back to the Dáil and tell us he needs an extra €600 million, €700 million or €800 million, whatever the HSE tells the Minister. The other choice is to go back to the HSE and say he is sorry but this is the amount of money Dáil Éireann has voted him and they will have to figure out how to bring this in on budget. No one is suggesting that sick people are sent away. The Minister knows that is not being suggested. Anyone managing a budget anywhere in the world says what they will deliver and what amount of money they have. The third thing, which is what actually happened, if I understand the Minister, is he did not tell the HSE to adjust the service plan according to the budget therefore its warning that it did not have enough money held and we ended up where we are now with a nearly €800 million overrun. Was anything done throughout the year? Did the Minister instruct the HSE to adjust the service plan or capital expenditure plan or whatever it was to bring it in on budget?

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