Results 3,021-3,040 of 35,540 for speaker:Pearse Doherty
- Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Existing Levels of Service Costs: Discussion (15 Nov 2023)
Pearse Doherty: The head of the HSE wrote to the Minister for Health saying there would be dire consequences for public safety if this went ahead and the Minister for Health went ahead with it.
- Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Existing Levels of Service Costs: Discussion (15 Nov 2023)
Pearse Doherty: I want to make this point. I am asking Mr. Kinnane this question because the general secretary of the Department told the Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform and Taoiseach, that he had no sight of the letter that the Minister for Health furnished to the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform. I am asking Mr. Kinnane if he had any...
- Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Existing Levels of Service Costs: Discussion (15 Nov 2023)
Pearse Doherty: Was Mr. Kinnane aware of the letter?
- Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Existing Levels of Service Costs: Discussion (15 Nov 2023)
Pearse Doherty: Is it Mr. Kinnane's understanding that letter was furnished to the Department?
- Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Existing Levels of Service Costs: Discussion (15 Nov 2023)
Pearse Doherty: That is fair enough.
- Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Existing Levels of Service Costs: Discussion (15 Nov 2023)
Pearse Doherty: That is a straight answer and I respect and appreciate it. Was Mr. Kinnane party to or aware of any discussions in the Department regarding the warning letter the HSE's chief executive officer issued to his line Minister, the Minister for Health, which was furnished to Mr. Kinnane's Department with commentary from the Minister?
- Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Existing Levels of Service Costs: Discussion (15 Nov 2023)
Pearse Doherty: It was sent before the budget.
- Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Existing Levels of Service Costs: Discussion (15 Nov 2023)
Pearse Doherty: Whether Mr. Kinnane was involved in it or not, he was not aware of any discussions of the letter before budget day. Is that correct?
- Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Existing Levels of Service Costs: Discussion (15 Nov 2023)
Pearse Doherty: I know it is not Mr. Kinnane's area of responsibility but-----
- Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Existing Levels of Service Costs: Discussion (15 Nov 2023)
Pearse Doherty: That is fine. That is all I wanted to know. Mr. Kinnane made the point the Government agreed this, and absolutely, the whole of Government agrees this and has made this final decision. I assume he agreed with the allocation of the ELS for health, or did he? He is an acting assistant secretary general in the Department. Is that something he agreed? If that is the case, I genuinely...
- Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Existing Levels of Service Costs: Discussion (15 Nov 2023)
Pearse Doherty: To clarify, I asked whether Mr. Kinnane agrees with the ELS of €708 million for health next year and whether there has been any dissent within his Department in respect of that figure.
- Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Existing Levels of Service Costs: Discussion (15 Nov 2023)
Pearse Doherty: I would like to have the clarification now because I do not have representatives of the Government in front of me. We have asked Mr. Kinnane to come in and he is an official in the Department. Was there any dissent within the Department in respect of the figure that was agreed, namely, the €708 million? We know how this works. The officials deal with it and so on, and it is then...
- Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Existing Levels of Service Costs: Discussion (15 Nov 2023)
Pearse Doherty: I am not talking about the health Estimate.
- Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Existing Levels of Service Costs: Discussion (15 Nov 2023)
Pearse Doherty: It is not about the health Estimate. With respect, I am talking about the ELS provision. That is the subject matter of this discussion. The largest component of ELS in budget 2024 is health. It is absolutely acceptable to ask a question about it and Mr. Kinnane should have been prepared for one. It is a simple question and he does not have to answer in numbers or anything like that. To...
- Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Existing Levels of Service Costs: Discussion (15 Nov 2023)
Pearse Doherty: Does he know what rate health inflation is running at?
- Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Existing Levels of Service Costs: Discussion (15 Nov 2023)
Pearse Doherty: Let us with finish with this-----
- Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Existing Levels of Service Costs: Discussion (15 Nov 2023)
Pearse Doherty: Yes, I would imagine so.
- Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Existing Levels of Service Costs: Discussion (15 Nov 2023)
Pearse Doherty: I agree 100%. There will be a Revised Estimate next week in respect of the health budget. We talked yesterday at a meeting of the finance committee about how, on an accrual basis, that may be as high as €1.5 billion if we are led to believe what is in the media and, on a cash basis, what is needed between now and the end of the year could be €1.1 billion. None of that is...
- Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Existing Levels of Service Costs: Discussion (15 Nov 2023)
Pearse Doherty: Parts of it are going to be that. We know what the driver is.
- Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Existing Levels of Service Costs: Discussion (15 Nov 2023)
Pearse Doherty: We will already be between €1 billion and €1.5 billion in debt starting off, unless there is a way of making sure that none of the patients who were treated this year present next year or if the inflation we have seen this year simply goes away. We are going to have more inflation next year. We all know this. How is all of this going to disappear? How do these magical...