Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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296. To ask the Minister for Health the way in which the Health Service will cope with the already showing significant under-provision for 2016; if he accepts that it is impracticable and unworkable to have so-called overspends carried forward by specific entities and sectors within the system; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8228/16]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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The gross current estimate for the Health Sector for 2016 is €13.195 billion, an increase of €900 million (7%) on the revised estimate for 2015. In addition, potential savings of €125m will be available to reinvest in maintaining and improving health services.

The HSE's Accountability Framework makes explicit the responsibilities of all managers to achieve performance targets set out in each year's Service Plan. The 2016 National Service Plan sets out the quantum of services to be provided within the €12,928.4m maximum net non-capital determination notified to the HSE for 2016. The NSP also sets out how the Executive intends to develop and build on the Framework in 2016 to further enhance and strengthen accountability arrangements next year.

The Service Plan identified savings measures totalling €125m, including procurement, probity, proscribing and drug prices. Of these, €110m relate to the PCRS, and are profiled for the second half of the year. Additional measures will be required in other areas to meet the financial risk identified by the HSE as being managed within the Service Plan. Currently, the HSE is undertaking an exercise to identify actions necessary with the acute hospital sector and I understand this exercise is scheduled to be competed by end April.

In submitting the 2016 Service Plan for my consideration and approval, the HSE Director General identified a financial risk being managed within the Plan which is in the order of €500m of which €200m relates to service delivery performance areas including acute and community services.

It is in this context, that when formally approving the HSE Service Plan 2016, I advised that it was important that management focus and the activities of all units are, from the outset of 2016, fully aligned with the Government's budgetary strategy and the delivery of the levels of services set out in the Service Plan.

I do not think it would be appropriate or proper for an acting or caretaker Government to make any material changes to the Service Plan or to make financial commitments that will bind the incoming Government once it is elected.

Of course the new Government can amend the Service Plan as it sees fit.