Health budget funding gap
After the chair apologises for missing her, Deputy Shortall calls for an urgent debate on next year’s underfunded health budget and the need to carry over the supplementary allocation.
We need an urgent debate this week on the underfunding of the health service for next year. Both Bernard Gloster and Robert Watt issued dire warnings about the implications of the underfunding for patient care next year.
Last week's supplementary allocation of €1 billion goes some way to plugging the hole in the budget for this year, but that has to be carried over to next year. There is a mechanism for doing so. It happens from time to time that a Supplementary Estimate goes into the following year's base. Will the Taoiseach consider using that mechanism, which is open to him, in order that we can avoid the worst implications of the underfunding next year? Those implications and warnings have been completely ignored by the Minister for public expenditure and his Secretary General. It is now open to the Taoiseach to take steps to address what is likely to be a major problem for patients next year. Will he consider doing that?