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THE GOVERNMENT TODAY signed off on an additional €4 billion in spending on a range of departments and agencies, including close to €1 billion on health spending.
The total amount Supplementary Estimates have cost in 2023 is €6 billion, coming in just behind last year.
The extra spending, beyond that which was set out in the budget, will focus on health, cost of living measures, and funding for those fleeing the war in Ukraine.
An additional €960 million will be spent on health, which will fund increased demand and activity in the health service, particularly in the Acute Hospital Sector.
It brings the final health allocation to around €22.4 billion.
At an Oireachtas Health Committee last month, HSE chief executive Bernard Gloster said that the health service will have a deficit of around €1.5 billion by the end of this year.
When asked why the amount Gloster had specified has not been funded, a government spokesperson said that the €960 million is “essentially what is agreed at this point” and what the government has allocated.
The health service is expected to operate within its capacity and the available resources allocated, “something we have been saying for many many years”, said the spokesperson.
He added that the government has been running surpluses “specifically to allow for contingencies like this”.
“We live in a very uncertain world at the moment, there are plenty of black swan events taking place annually, we just cannot foresee what is going to happen next, that is exactly why we have been running the economy responsibly, putting aside funding on an ongoing basis,” said the government spokesperson.
An extra €850 million will also be provided to the Department of Education for accelerated progress on the school building programme and additional pay costs.
The Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth has also received €170 million for both Tusla and Disability Service pressures.
Around €1.1 billion is being used to fund this year’s elements of the Cost-of-Living package that was announced as part of Budget 2024.
Funding will also be provided to support Government Departments providing services to people arriving in Ireland after fleeing the war in Ukraine.
This includes additional school places and medical cards.
Minister for Public Expenditure Donohoe said the additional €4 billion in funding for supplementary estimates brings the total amount of extra spending this year beyond the budget to €6 billion.
He added: “This additional funding demonstrates the responsive actions taken by Government throughout 2023 to provide additional Cost of Living measures in the face of continued elevated inflation levels.
“These measures are being rolled out in a timely manner with those on lower incomes benefitting to a greater extent.
Minister Donohoe also said the funding “recognises the additional demand facing our public services particularly in the health and education sectors” and remarked that “public services continue to operate in a post-pandemic environment with increased demand and complexity”.
With reporting by Christina Finn
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If my maths is correct the figures in the article add up to €3.08 billion of the 4. Is the rest going to house Ukranians / IPP? Funny the way they omit this.
@Daniel Broderick: I wonder would the Ukraine be as generous if the roles were reversed?
I sincerely doubt it.
@Daniel Broderick: the media are as bad as the government in their sly wording to minimise the 4 billon spent by year end on immigration measures.
And not a penny on housing?
@9QRixo8H: no. That would be turkeys voting for xmas seeing as they are nearly all landlords
@lWOk0fWf: Oh yeah,great plan….earn money on being a landlord(which they would anyway)vs bombing in the polls.why do people insist that they don’t’fix’ housing because they are landlords.
@uUleRhCu: Are you still in denial that we have a housing crisis ?
@Frank Cauldhame: I never denied that there was a housing crisis…where did you dream that up?…..The only thing I’m saying is it not as easy as people like you say it is to fix….we are at full building capacity/we have more people coming to our shores to work than we can handle(victims of our own success)…….We will find out when the next government takes over(and most likely make it worse)how difficult it actually is….because it’s people like you are in denial about the whole thing…..I bet also the next government will not be in anyway to blame,it will all be someone else’s fault.
Are they walking from Ukraine or something, those fleeing the war have long since moved to a safer zone, and more than welcome here but those arriving in the last 6 months really need to be examined. This is an election buster.
How many more billions are we giving to Ukrainians and others fleeing from “wars” in Albania and Zimbabwe?
@JagTune: How many more billions are we going to give Irish layabouts in housing/dole and everything else when there is full employment…..I’d rather the Ukrainians got it.
@uUleRhCu: Take a ‘kin hike with your poverty porn attacks on the poorest sections of society, you’re on this site 24/7 doing no work and have the gall to call social welfare recipients layabouts, you’re the layabout.
@Frank Cauldhame: Fair comment Frank. But you seem to have missed that the poster who JT responded to is an equal see you next tuesday, attacking the most vulnerable in society
@Frank Cauldhame: Rubbish.I make about 10 comments in here a day….you are the one on here all day with the ‘Everything is everyone else’s fault’….Zero responsibility fanatics like you are the reason people stay poor and blame others.You enable others to think sitting around is ok and you should be furnished with everything you need.
@Frank Cauldhame: looks like it is he’s full time job.
@The boot: Typical response to facts from people like you.
4B?
Is that even enough to finish the Children’s Hospital?
Ahh lovely, 1billion on health ? So the new children’s hospital gets a cloakroom too, nice one !
I presume this is going direct to the healthcare staff whom need it most?! Brilliant!
Finally some money for healthcare. We’re a rich country with a tiny population. The healthcare system should be peak.
@GVR: throwing money down the black hole that is HSE bureaucracy is not going to solve anything.
As a heavy drinker and smoker who lives on fast food and gets zero exercise, I welcome this development
@Jim Slip: oh how I wish we could all be as perfect as you.
1 billion on health for all the drunk and overdosed scrotes showing up in A&E.
@DavyDoDa: They may also use some of this for sick people. But yeah, moan away about whatever todays imagined problem is.
@DavyDoDa you’re some dooda alright
@The Kenn: You’re not allowed to be positive on comments. It’s the rules of The Journal.
@DavyDoDa: Jesus… I hope life treats you kind. Disingenuously.
“ An additional €960 will be spent on health “
Wow
@Argus Romsworth: it won’t be additional….. it will only cover the shambles from last year an so on and on it will go. It will be the same next year and years after that. Not one Minister for health in the past 25 years has got on top of this mess. They will all promise the sun moon and stars but deliver f all eventually. Seriously did anyone who voted for him think Donnelly would make a difference.
have your say