There is a concern that the country's best performing and most strategically important hospitals are being hit with massive budget cuts. St. James's Hospital is to face the biggest cut of €9 million and it is hard to understand how it will cope with the pressures given the case mix of that hospital. The allocation appears to be more about getting rid of the deficits of existing hospitals. Where does the community budget within the HSE lie? Sums of €5 million are being taken from Temple Street and Crumlin children's hospitals as well. The health (amendment) Bill is due but it must broaden its compass in terms of eligibility and community issues.

We cannot discuss the contents of a Bill.

Where do we stand with the Health Service Executive (Governance) Bill and the health (amendment) Bill, particularly in terms of the hospitals that will now be cut so dramatically?

The Health Service Executive (Governance) Bill is on Second Stage and the health (amendment) Bill will be taken this session. For the first time, budget allocations for hospitals are based on projected spend rather than on historic budgets, which caused a lot of difficulties in the past. One Bill is on Second Stage and the other is expected this session.

Will the Taoiseach publish the criteria by which those allocations are made?

This can be discussed in some detail on Committee Stage. There was a complete change in the way budgets were allocated. Previously it was done by historic spend and now it will be done on projected spend for the future.

It was not done on historical spend, it was done on case mix.

They were historic budgets asking how much the hospital spent the year before.

It was based on case mix.