Health ‘holding up’ budget discussions

The Government will have to wait until Sunday to sign off on

As Health Minister James Reilly was accused of causing the

budgetary standstill, Government sources were not ruling out a

supplementary budget for health, which would see its

overspend run into next year’s budgetary savings.

Such a move could result in cuts to health services or other

departments having to make greater savings to help make up the

shortfall. The bailout for Dr Reilly’s department would be the

third since he took office.

Some ministers were last night becoming increasingly

“frustrated” as they cannot finalise their departmental

budgets because “nobody has any idea what Minister Reilly’s

final overrun figure will be”.

“I think you could call it frustration around many at the

Cabinet table, because this health issue doesn’t seem to be

moving anywhere,” said a senior source. Estimates of the

health overrun vary widely from €100m to €400m.

“Health is now the biggest piece of the jigsaw left to play

and the rest of the pieces can’t be put in place until it’s

sorted.”

“At this stage, the only budget figures that have been

discussed at Cabinet is the main €2.5bn adjustment”.

The Economic Management Council, comprising the Taoiseach,

Tánaiste, Finance Minister, Minister for Expenditure and

Public Reform, and their advisers, met yesterday afternoon and

although a Cabinet meeting is scheduled for this morning, the

senior source said “discussions will take place but it won’t

be settled”.

Budget 2014 is not expected to be signed off until Fine Gael

ministers return from a weekend conference in Limerick and a

Cabinet meeting is held at 6pm on Sunday.

However, another senior source insisted much of the hold-up

was because “frontline services in health have to be protected

as far as possible”. “The health budget is €16bn a year,”

said the second source. “If you cut back in health, it has a

whole different set of ramifications.”

The basic problem appears to be while the flexibility

contained in Michael Noonan’s decision to reduce the

adjustment target from €3.1bn to €2.5bn has been shared right

across departments — “you can’t be categoric as to which

ministers are getting that flexibility,” said the source.

Dáil business has been cleared for next week for the

announcement of the budget. Mr Noonan will speak first at

2.30, followed by Public Expenditure Minister Brendan Howlin.

Parties and political groups will then be given an hour each

to respond and discussions on the budget and the Dáil could

sit until 11.30pm that night.

Parties yesterday agreed that there would be no leaders’

question