Government avoiding “honest conversation” on healthcare spending, says Sherlock

Labour TD and health spokesperson Marie Sherlock TD has said that an “honest conversation” is needed about the true cost of running Ireland’s health service.

The Dublin Central TD said that the HSE is heading towards a deficit of close to €1 billion this year, a figure she called “deeply alarming.”

“Despite reassurances that the deficit was stabilising, the rate at which it is growing actually accelerated in June and July, even after extraordinary measures were introduced to slow spending,” she said.

“The HSE was reduced to issuing a diktat on 19 June requiring all invoices over €10,000 to be sent for approval to the CEO. No efficient, self-respecting medium-sized company would operate like that, never mind an organisation responsible for a €29 billion budget,” Sherlock said.

Sherlock criticised what she called a “dangerous strategy” by the Departments of Public Expenditure and Health, accusing the Departments of providing “unrealistic allocations” to the HSE over the past four years.

“Despite a direction from the Minister that all service level agreements be signed off by February, some of the biggest hospitals in the state have still not agreed to their 2026 budgets. That is beyond ridiculous,” she said.

“These hospitals are being offered less than they spent last year while being expected to cope with a 6% to 7% increase in patient demand. That simply does not add up.”

The Labour health spokesperson said, “the Minister is right to focus on improving productivity, but productivity cannot be treated as a substitute for properly funding rising demand. Improving patient flow across seven days requires beds, diagnostics and sufficient support staff. Better productivity in a health service dealing with rapidly increasing demand does not automatically mean lower spending.”

“We are also paying an enormous price for the failure to tackle delayed transfers of care. They are costing acute hospitals more than €20 million every month, yet we have seen nowhere near the urgency required from government.”

Since March, there have been 164 days when more than 500 patients have experienced a delayed transfer of care, with hospitals warning that the situation is worsening ahead of the winter flu season.

“The Department needs to get its act together. Year after year, the HSE is forced into emergency cost-cutting measures and supplementary estimates because government budgets fail to reflect rising demand, the increasing complexity of care associated with demographic change, and the real cost of delivering services,” she said.

“We cannot keep budgeting for a health service that exists only on a Departmental spreadsheet. The Minister for Health and the Minister for Public Expenditure must use Budget 2027 to finally put health funding on a realistic and sustainable footing. Patients and healthcare workers deserve a health budget based on reality, not wishful thinking.”