Health Department returned €70m in budget surplus

THE Department of Health returned the best part of €70 million unspent to the Exchequer last year while hospital units lay idle and crucial services could not be provided because of lack of funding.

According to the department, strict public finance procedures prevented it from using the 2004 surplus of €70.9m for facilities or services. It was allowed to retain just €1.84m of the surplus for this year.

Similarly, other departments surrendered to the Exchequer surpluses collectively running to hundreds of million of euro.