HEALTH ALLOCATION:FUNDS ALLOCATED to the Health Service Executive for capital developments next year have been reduced by €123 million, according to estimates figures released last night.
The figures also indicate that the HSE's net budget for next year - its allocation before income it gets directly from A&E, hospital bed and other charges are taken into account - will be some €12.3 billion. This represents an increase of just €174 million on its net budget allocation for 2008.
While there may be additional measures announced on budget day next Tuesday to increase the amount in the HSE's coffers, as things stand in its net estimates allocation no provision has been made for inflation.
Moreover, no provision has been made for salary increases due to thousands of health service staff in the latter half of next year or the employment of extra hospital consultants on higher salaries as envisaged following the agreement of new contracts with them earlier this year.
Last year the HSE's total budget came to €14.9 billion but even with that level of funding it was facing a deficit for this year of some €200 million at the end of August.
Sources were last night predicting services next year will have to be cut to account for the fact that there will be no real increase in the health service budget in the next financial year.
One well-placed source said services would have to be cut in order to pay staff the increases due.
In the northeast hospital staff have been told to expect their budgets to be cut by 10 to 12 per cent.
But yesterday Minister for Health Mary Harney said she hoped services next year could be maintained at this year's levels.
"In the framing of the estimates for next year the priority for me and the Government was to maintain services. Clearly we are operating in a very challenging economic environment and we will not have the increased investment in health that we have had in recent years. That is a fact," she said.
"So in that context we have to make choices and maintaining services for patients whether at the community level or at the hospital level is the priority and that will be borne out in the estimates," she added.
Asked if that meant services next year would be maintained at this year's levels, she replied: "I would hope so, yes."
Meanwhile, the estimates figures indicate the net budget for current expenditure by the Department of Health and Children next year will be some €515 million, an increase of €8 million on last year.
However, its capital budget has been cut by €5 million to €15 million for 2009.
Furthermore, the total net budget for the Office of the Minister for Children for next year when revenue and capital funding is accounted for comes to €538 million, compared to €622 million for this year.