HSE has overspent by €781m and does not know how much extra funding it will need for rest of year

Dáil Budgetary Oversight Committee to hear about budget overruns by the health service

Louise McGirr, assistant secretary general at the Department of Health, will tell the committee funding rose by about €10.6bn, and staffing by more than 30,000 between 2019 and the end of last year, but spending continues to exceed budget. File picture

The HSE had drawn down €781m more than planned by the end of last month, and still does not know the amount of extra funding it will require to keep the health service running until the end of the year.

Recurring health spending overruns, budget forecasting, and the impact of expenditure pressures on the State’s overall budgetary position will be discussed on Tuesday, during which politicians will be told that by the end of September, HSE spending was growing by nearly 9%, against funded growth of about 5%.