Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

----about their efforts to provide the services, treat the extra patients and spend the extra money. We all know there are productivity gains to be had, but at least two thirds of the additional spending this year is because our healthcare workers are rightly treating more patients who are showing up, and are doing so at a time when medicines and supplies have become more expensive. Turning to next year, it is difficult to forecast what is going to happen in terms of prices and patient demand. A post-Covid surge may recede, leading to a very different level of patients presenting. Prices may well also correct. Either way, €1.1 billion of next year’s €2 billion health budget is allocated to supporting existing service levels.

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