Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Minister for Health is supportive of this because there needs to be some link between the budget we allocate in this House and what happens in relation to a public service. The reality is that the HSE is now on course to exceed the 2023 funded workforce target. To be clear, this is for 2023. Budget 2024 will come in on 1 January, which is weeks away. In 2024, the Minister for Health will have more money for the HSE to hire more nurses and doctors in addition to the exemptions already secured. Honesty is important in politics and the health service. I have two documents. One is the budget book. On pages 104 and 105, the Government outlined its allocation of funding for the health service for 2024 of €2 billion, broken down between core funding, non-core funding and capital. I also have the Sinn Féin alternative budget for health 2024. Deputy Cullinane will be glad to know I read it. Presumably, what Deputy Cullinane would do if he was Minister for Health would be to allocate a budget of €1.5 billion. When he asked me to revise the health budget, was he asking me to cut it by a further €500 million to reflect Sinn Féin's policy plans?

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