Paul Donnelly (Dublin West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

That is absolutely the case. That is key. I have seen it many times, as I am sure the Minister and every other Deputy has. Anybody who has worked in the community or voluntary sector will know about it. If an organisation that has a service level agreement is very good at managing its finances, it is penalised at the end of the year because that money is taken back. There is a concern that when the following year comes around, the HSE decides that organisation is very good because it did not need the level of funding allocated. The HSE will then consider chopping off a bit of the budget for use somewhere else. That is where multi-annual funding is critically important. It gives people an opportunity to know the level of funding available to them for the next three to five years, or whatever length of time it may be. It gives people certainty and the opportunity to manage that money. It is the same in every business, as the Minister knows. Some years you spend more and some years you spend less.

However, over a period of time it is possible to plan and strategise. If there is a special project, it could be decided to use that underspend on that the following year. That would be critical.

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