Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Some €346 million was targeted for savings in health in 2018. For a long time, I have been asking how that figure was reached, but I cannot get an answer. It is described as a targeted savings measure. It sounds as though a lot of work went into calculating the figure. However, I have asked very senior figures in the HSE, representatives of the Department of Health and a colleague of the Minister of State, Deputy Finian McGrath, to explain the calculation of the figure and I have not received an answer. The cynic in me thinks that somebody proposed a figure of €350 million but somebody else proposed €346 million because that would make it seem as though some targets had been identified or some work had been done in that regard.

Obviously, the Minister is aware that the target was missed. Why was it set in the first place? If we are to investigate that, perhaps we should begin by examining from where the targeted savings figure came. The phrase "targeted savings measure" brings to mind targets, savings, amounts and measures but all I see is a figure which nobody can explain.

The Minister of State, his Department and the HSE would do well to heed the very wise words of the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council.

The council said the health budget should be well founded and credible. It also spoke about the budgetary process within the health service the Government presides over and described it as suffering from weak planning and weak spending controls. Therefore, in saying this, I have the backing of the council.

The figure of €346 million was a savings target given to the HSE. I have been questioning a number of people on this. The more I question and the more the lack of answers becomes more apparent, the more worried I become that the figure was plucked from the air. I spoke to one of the Minister of State's colleagues about this. The conversation is on the record on the health committee. I must say again that I sincerely hope the Government does not get the figure from the same place as the lads we all heard on the telephone call. That is how it looks to me because nobody has been able to justify to me where the figure came from. Did the Department sit down with the HSE to come up with a figure? Was it just given to the HSE as a target to be achieved? Did the HSE come to the Department with the figure? Everyone I have asked has not been able to tell me how the figure was arrived at. I sincerely hope the Minister of State can tell me how it was arrived at. If so, perhaps he might be able to give me a list of the savings targets. What was targeted? What amount was targeted? By how much did it fall short? We know the target was not reached. That has been established and acknowledged and nobody will dispute that. If the target was not reached, have we any idea why such an overly ambitious target was established given that the health service is underfunded? We know it is underfunded because we were discussing the supplementary budget at a meeting of the health committee only this week. We know the health service is underfunded, yet somebody believes savings of €346 million can be made.

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