Health spending rise negligible, warns Harney

SPENDING on health will only increase by a small amount in the budget, Health Minister Mary Harney warned yesterday.

“I can tell you for certain that the rate of increase on health spending will be negligible in comparison with any other year in the past 11 years,” Ms Harney revealed yesterday.

“We have multiplied health spending four and a half times from what it was, say 11 years ago. We will not be increasing health spending of that kind of order at all,” the minister warned.