HSE West and North West budget overspend doubles to €50m
The budget overrun by has been described as “completely unacceptable” by the minister for public expenditure
Spending by the HSE West and North West had run almost €50 million over budget by the end of July despite an increased annual allocation of €2.551 billion, according to new figures.
The latest accounts reveal that the budget overrun doubled between the end of March and the end of July, when it stood at €48.7 million.
It follows reports that the HSE West and North West is among four health regions set to be stripped of their day-to-day spending powers by Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers, who described the overspend as “completely unacceptable”.
Responding to a question by Galway City Councillor and member of the Regional Health Forum Shane Forde, HSE management confirmed that its budget had been exceeded by €48.7 million at the end of July.
However, they described this as “an improvement” on the figure of €24.3 million at the end of the first quarter on the basis that it represented 3.3% of the allocated funding compared to 3.9% earlier this year.
“To remain within allocated 2026 funding, controls are in place regarding dependence on agency staff in the region. A non-pay savings plan has been implemented in the region and progress is monitored monthly,” said Liam Forgarty, regional director of finance for the HSE.
“Improvements in income collection have also been targeted. A particular focus has been placed on the collection of private health insurance chanrges and emergency department and minor injury departments,” he added.
Mr Fogarty said it was not possible to isolate figures pertaining to Galway, as services in the county were incorporated within the Galway-Roscommon integrated health area.
Jack Chambers said earlier this month that he would be withdrawing day-to-day spending powers from four HSE regions, describing their overspend as “completely unacceptable”.
The four regions affected are understood to be the West and North West, the South West, Dublin South East, and the Dublin and Midlands regions, out of six HSE regions in total nationally.
“They’re going to lose autonomy on day-to-day spending and there’ll be much greater controls introduced on all elements of pay and non-pay spending,” he said.
Reacting to the decision, Michael Kilcoyne, the chairperson of the HSE Regional Health Forum, warned that it would lead to fewer staff and fewer services.