The health system is running €281million over budget this year, an Oireachtas committee has heard.
The revelation comes as public outrage grows on hospital overcrowding and understaffing.
HSE chief Paul Reid told the health committee yesterday factors behind the overrun include emergency care in acute hospitals, demand-led services and the growing population of older patients.
He said: “Demand is increasing due to an ageing demographic, more complex service demands and ongoing societal and economic change.
“The latest reported financial position, as at July 2019, shows a deficit of €281million with 43% of that within our operational service area and 57% within pensions and other demand-led areas.
“The greatest cost pressures within our operational services are in respect of providing residential placements to service users with an intellectual
disability and the provision of specialist emergency care, within the acute hospital setting, to a growing population of older and frailer patients.”
The total HSE budget is €16billion. This year’s deficit is down on the overspend for the same period in 2018 which was €485million.
Mr Reid said he has told senior health managers to identify measures to reduce spending, including limiting agency staff, overtime and staffing levels. Health Minister Simon Harris also appeared before the committee and was slammed over waiting times and trolley numbers.
Mr Harris said: “We make decisions as an Oireachtas outside of Budget time.
“This year we decided we needed to sort out the nurses’ dispute, the Siptu dispute and concentrate more on Brexit and CervicalCheck. Budget day is a moment in time, but decisions taken after have a significant impact.”
Fine Gael’s Bernard Durkan told both men the overrun does not sit well with the public. He added: “This isn’t good for morale. If we fall short of the target that doesn’t wash with the general public and internal staff and it frustrates them.”
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