Health Minister Requests Additional €300 Million for 2023 Spending

The Minister for Health, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, announced on October 30, 2023, that an additional €300 million is necessary to meet health spending demands this year. This funding will primarily address non-pay expenses in acute hospitals, community care, and primary care reimbursements.

During her presentation to the Joint Oireachtas Health Committee, Carroll MacNeill detailed that €250 million of the requested funds would cover overruns in acute hospitals and community care services. Voluntary hospitals are projected to need an extra €40 million to stabilize their financial situations. Furthermore, €10 million is allocated for a 9.25 percent pay increase for workers in Section 39 agencies, a decision made last March.

Balancing Financial Discipline and Patient Care

Carroll MacNeill emphasized the importance of improving patient services despite the financial overruns. She stated, “It is important to reflect that despite this overrun, progress on budget discipline is being made. My focus remains on increasing service provision for patients – not reducing it to meet financial targets.”

The Minister noted that new financial controls have increased accountability for Health Service Executive (HSE) managers, requiring them to balance service improvement with budget constraints. “Over the past decade, input growth specifically staffing, non-pay funding and capital investment, has been high, but activity growth has been slower,” she added.

Statistics reflect this disparity; for instance, outpatient appointments per consultant have dropped by approximately 30 percent over the last decade, with a 6 percent decline in the past year. Despite the workforce expanding by 25,523 full-time staff since 2019, an increase of 25 percent, productivity has not matched this growth. The number of acute beds has also increased by 1,330 since 2019, yet activity in the health sector has not kept pace with these investments.

Currently, health spending constitutes one in every four euros of government expenditure. With the population growing and aging, Carroll MacNeill asserted that future demand cannot be met without significant improvements in productivity.

Recent Improvements and Future Investments

Despite the challenges, the Minister highlighted recent advancements in productivity and patient flow. There has been an 8 percent reduction in the number of patients waiting on trolleys in emergency departments compared to last year. During the October bank holiday weekend, there were 14 percent fewer patients waiting at 8 a.m. than the same weekend in 2022, despite a 5 percent increase in patient presentations.

Carroll MacNeill attributed these improvements to effective management strategies aimed at enhancing patient flow and optimizing the scheduling of key staff, including consultants, on weekends.

The committee also discussed capital expenditures, revealing that an additional €2.1 million is required for Brexit-related works at Rosslare Europort, which conducts import checks for various state agencies, including the HSE.

On the topic of the National Children’s Hospital, the Minister confirmed that construction company BAM has committed to making portions of the hospital accessible to health officials starting December 3, 2023, paving the way for preparations ahead of the facility’s opening.