THE HEALTH SERVICE Executive will deliver its National Service Plan for 2014 to the Minister for Health today.

The plan will show how the executive expects to spend a €13 billion budget, as well as how it proposes to save €666 million.

The plan has been delayed twice to give HSE officials time to finalise their proposals.

Officials at both the Department of Health and the Taoiseach’s Department will examine the service plan, which the Chairman of the Public Accounts committee says can be used to stop the payments of top-ups to hospital chiefs.

Jerry Buttimer yesterday told The Week In Politics that the plan could be amended to punish institutions which breach public sector pay guidelines.

Late last week, it was revealed that 24 hospital organisations were in breach of the pay guidelines.

The HSE has said that it was over budget by €119m at the end of September.

The service plan will be discussed by the Oireachtas Health Committee in the coming weeks.

Read: Damien Kiberd: ‘Top-up’ payments part of a game whose rules need to change

Read: All Government departments expected to respond on top-up payments by start of December