Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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460. To ask the Minister for Health if he will indicate the accounting officer for the Health Service Executive as of 1 January 2015. [4786/15]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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The Health Service Executive (Financial Matters) Act 2014 provides for the disestablishment of the Health Service Executive’s Vote with effect from the 31 December 2014 and the funding of the Executive through the Vote of the Office of the Minister for Health. The Act also sets out the new statutory financial governance arrangements for the Health Service Executive.

Under the new arrangements the Secretary-General of the Department of Health is the Accounting Officer for the Health Vote (Vote 38) which includes grants to the Health Service Executive. Under the new framework the Minister for Health sets a budget for the Executive, which is funded by means of grants made from the Health Vote.

Under the Act the Director-General of the HSE is an accountable person, with responsibilities to ensure that the Executive operates within its financial limits, reports to the Department if the Executive is likely to breech those limits and is accountable to the C&AG and PAC for the financial management of the HSE.