Bernard Allen
Question:296 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for Health if he will make a statement on the situation whereby the Western Health Board may reconsider suing his Department for the £15 million which is owed to the Board.
Written Answers. - Outstanding Moneys Owed to Health Board.
The Western Health Board, together with all other health boards, is funded by way of a non-capital allocation which represents the overall permitted level of net revenue expenditure for that particular year.
The level of cash made available to a Board in any one year, while related to the notified level of approved non-capital allocation, is a combination of current year's cash together with the balance of cash from the previous year. In the case of health boards that balance of previous year's cash amounts to 5 per cent approximately of the approved level of allocation for that year.
In the case of the Western Health Board, the Board will be receiving, this week, a significant amount of the balances due to the Board in respect of 1992 and these moneys together with the level of cash notified for the current year, will be sufficient to support the approved level of spending for 1993.
The Deputy should be aware that Officials of my Department will be meeting on a regular basis with representatives of the Board throughout 1993 regarding the progress of the Board's allocation and cash management position.