Planned disability services looked at in HSE costs review

THE MINISTER of State at the Department of Health John Moloney has said that the planned roll-out of new disability services is being considered in the context of a review of the HSE’s financial position for the year.

The Irish Times reported earlier this month that the HSE’s board had been told by management in a confidential briefing that it was planning to introduce additional cost-containment measures aimed at generating further savings of €193 million.

The HSE is facing a potential shortfall of €300 million this year.

This has led to speculation that a fund of over €100 million earmarked for the now delayed “fair deal” nursing home payment scheme as well as €50 million allocated for new disability services could be diverted for other uses.

Mr Moloney said that the HSE had told the department that it planned “to release €20 million of the €50 million additional funding for disability services”.

Informed HSE sources said that while €20 million was now committed to new services, the balance remained ringfenced for disability services – and that any move to use it for other purposes would have to be approved by the Government.

Mr Moloney said that it was essential that the HSE lived within its overall budget for the year and that it needed to manage its activity levels and cost drivers appropriately so as to achieve this aim.

However, he said that he did not believe that it was “desirable to resort to using development funding to offset expenditure pressures arising in respect of ongoing health services”.

The report given to the HSE board also revealed that the organisation believed it would have to seek an additional €100 million from the Government in a supplementary estimate to meet a shortfall in the scheme to repay money illegally deducted from patients in nursing homes.

The HSE received €150 million to meet claims under the scheme this year.

However, it now believed that it would have to pay out much higher amounts.