Sinn Féin spokesperson on Health, David Cullinane TD, has said that the HSE bailout announced in the Summer Economic Statement was inevitable, and that the deficit was wrongly created by government in the first instance.

He said that investment in reform, primary care, and hospital capacity, not budget cuts, is needed to deliver a sustainable, efficient health service.

Teachta Cullinane said that the only impact on the health service from the government’s disastrous budget for 2024 was a lost year of chaos, a dangerous recruitment embargo, and serious reputational damage.

He said that Sinn Féin and senior members of the health service had warned that this would be the case after the Budget last year, and that it was reckless of government to take so long to recognise that their decision to underfund the health service was the wrong one.

Teachta Cullinane said:

“In the Budget for 2024, the government made a deliberate decision to underfund the health service. This demonstrated a misunderstanding of the very real problems in the health service. A major bailout in the Summer Economic Statement was inevitable. This is an admission that the government got it wrong.

“The government created a problem through mismanagement, set up a savings taskforce which obviously did not work, failed to invest in modernisation or capacity, and now they have had to sign the cheque anyway.

“This funding is not for new measures, but simply to stand still. All this has achieved is a lost year of chaos, a recruitment embargo, and serious reputational damage. Every frontline worker in the health service will tell you how damaging the embargo has been. This is terrible leadership from the Minister for Public Expenditure and the Minister for Health.

“In Sinn Féin’s alternative budget, we set out clear intentions for investment, for savings, for the deficit, and for accountability and proper planning.

“We set out multi-annual funding commitments for national strategies such as cancer, maternity, and stroke; for additional hospital capacity to tackle overcrowding and waiting lists; to radically expand entitlements to medical cards and reducing drugs costs; and to revolutionise GP and primary care, mental health services, and disability services.

“Sinn Féin would put the health service on a sustainable footing and deliver an investment plan that would create a more efficient, cost-effective health service and improve health outcomes.

“We all agree savings and productivity improvements are needed, but those cannot be achieved without investing in frontline staff, early intervention, and digital transformation to reduce disease and the administrative burden of care.

“All parties rely on the government publishing accurate and non-political Existing Level of Service figures. The government did not do that last year. Messing with Existing Level of Service provisions undermines financial credibility and good planning. Budget gimmickry is bad policy and reflects the poor leadership of this government.”