Results 1,521-1,540 of 26,350 for speaker:David Cullinane

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 38 - Health (Revised) (31 Jan 2024)

David Cullinane: It is on page 5, under "risk". It is basically saying there may be risk of a Supplementary Estimate in 2024. That goes to the heart of it. "Dishonesty" may be too strong a word but it is certainly a gross understatement of reality. There is no doubt whatsoever that there will be a need for a Revised Estimate this year. The briefing document states that there may be a need and an element...

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 38 - Health (Revised) (31 Jan 2024)

David Cullinane: That is not what it says in the briefing note, however. That is my point. The document refers to a risk and states that a Supplementary Estimate may be required. There are no ifs, buts or maybes about this. It is a reality. We need far more clarity. The Minister was much clearer in his response just now. This is part of the problem. Although the Minister is clear, I had a very robust...

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 38 - Health (Revised) (31 Jan 2024)

David Cullinane: This goes to the heart of people's credibility. That is what I am saying. The Minister may say it is not a certainty. I am saying it is a certainty. We will see who is right come September and October.

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 38 - Health (Revised) (31 Jan 2024)

David Cullinane: That will then be a matter of record in terms of what people said. I wish to move on from that because-----

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 38 - Health (Revised) (31 Jan 2024)

David Cullinane: May I come back in on that-----

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 38 - Health (Revised) (31 Jan 2024)

David Cullinane: I am saying it-----

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 38 - Health (Revised) (31 Jan 2024)

David Cullinane: -----but others are saying it to me as well.

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 38 - Health (Revised) (31 Jan 2024)

David Cullinane: I know it is a political decision.

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 38 - Health (Revised) (31 Jan 2024)

David Cullinane: I accept it is a political decision but it goes to the heart of what the core roles are. All I am saying is that many in the media and the health service who are considering this are saying we should always be examining productivity and savings. In fact, in some areas we have come far too late. To his credit, Mr. Bernard Gloster has shone a spotlight on agency expenditure, management...

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 38 - Health (Revised) (31 Jan 2024)

David Cullinane: I agree with some of that. When Paul Reid entered his role and first talked about productivity, one of his first acts was to send out letters to hospital managers on all these things. The Minister might have been a health spokesperson at the time, although I do not believe he was. The letters stated the HSE was to clamp down on bad spending and so on, but it did not happen. Of course, I...

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 38 - Health (Revised) (31 Jan 2024)

David Cullinane: I know the Minister cannot do that but I am referring to considering it.

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 38 - Health (Revised) (31 Jan 2024)

David Cullinane: With regard to the recruitment embargo, I accept that there has been a very healthy net increase in staff over the past three years. This is a good news story. However, we are moving from a good news story to a different space. This year, there will be a net increase of 2,200 under the national service plan. This may well be higher when the service plan comes out. Who knows? It certainly...

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 38 - Health (Revised) (31 Jan 2024)

David Cullinane: I know it also does not apply to fourth-year nurses. I should have accepted all of this so that we can cut straight to what it does affect.

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 38 - Health (Revised) (31 Jan 2024)

David Cullinane: I want to come back on this point because it is important. The health service is different. We get a large number of staff through international recruitment. There is a world shortage of healthcare staff. When we visited Altnagelvin, people spoke about the NHS coming in to poach a lot of staff who are trained there. We hear the same from training colleges in this State. We are losing...

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 38 - Health (Revised) (31 Jan 2024)

David Cullinane: It depended on the year and sometimes it was a bit more. Let us say it was an average of 6,000. We will now reach one third of this. If the Minister were to say the ceiling is 6,000 or 7,000 and that we would then put a cap on it, people could somewhat understand it. However, that is not what is happening. It happened at the end of last year but it is not happening now. I am putting it...

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 38 - Health (Revised) (31 Jan 2024)

David Cullinane: I am not saying we will not be hiring staff. I have acknowledged there will be a level of staff employed. It just will not be at the level it was the past three years.

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 38 - Health (Revised) (31 Jan 2024)

David Cullinane: A bit like the Supplementary Estimate, we will see at the end of the year who was right when it comes to the pressures this will put on the system. In my view, there is no doubt there will be posts in many of these areas where people will not be able to be replaced. There will be people who will want to come and work in the public system or get additional hours who will not be able to do so...

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 38 - Health (Revised) (31 Jan 2024)

David Cullinane: Will I tell the Minister the reasons why?

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 38 - Health (Revised) (31 Jan 2024)

David Cullinane: It is because people do not understand who exactly is covered. It talks about a family median income. We need to break it down more in terms of the income threshold because that is what people understand. It is far too vague. Even while preparing for this meeting if I am looking for information on what people are entitled to I Google it and the Citizens Information Service comes up...