I propose to take Questions Nos. 122 and 132 together.
The Health Service Executive (Financial Matters) Act 2014 provided for the disestablishment of the Health Service Executive's Vote with effect from 31 December 2014, and the funding of the Executive through the Vote of the Office of the Minister for Health. The Act also set out the new statutory financial governance arrangements for the Health Service Executive.
In 2014, prior to disestablishment, the HSE Vote reported expenditure on a gross basis; that is, expenditure funded by both exchequer monies and other income (patient income etc). Following disestablishment, the HSE Vote no longer exists. Exchequer grants to the HSE are now shown as part of the Department of Health Vote. This is in line with conventions applying to the many statutory bodies that do not have their own Vote.
The disestablishment of the HSE's Vote resulted in
€1.043 billion of receipts - previously reported as Appropriations-in-Aid (A-in-A) in the HSE Vote - being offset against the Gross Vote requirement for the Executive for 2015. The impact, when we compare 2014 (Vote 38 & 39 combined) to 2015 (Vote 39 incorporating HSE grant), is that both gross expenditure and A-in-A are reduced by €1.043 billion. However, the net exchequer position remains comparable.
The HSE is required to produce Annual Financial Statements and these receipts will be recorded in the published accounts of the Executive. These statements are subject to audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General.
Under the new arrangements, the Secretary General of the Department of Health is the Accounting Officer for the Health Vote (Vote 38) which includes grants to the Health Service Executive. Under the new framework the Minister for Health sets a net expenditure budget for the Executive, which is funded by means of grants made from the Health Vote. The level of expenditure 'approved' is net of any other income.
Under the Act the Director-General of the Health Service Executive is an accountable person, with responsibilities to ensure that the Executive operates within its financial limits, reports to the Department if the Executive is likely to breech those limits and is accountable to the C&AG and PAC for the financial management of the Executive.
The following table sets out the actual receipts recorded as Appropriations-in-Aid to Vote 39 prior to the disestablishment of the Vote on 1 January 2015, as reported in the Revised Estimates Volume (REV) for the years 2011 to 2014.
|
-
|
2011
|
2012
|
2013
|
2014
|
|
Description
|
€'000
|
€'000
|
€'000
|
€'000
|
|
Statutory Charges in Public Hospitals, Long Stay Charges and Charges for Maintenance in Private and Semi-Private Accommodation in Public Hospitals
|
376,000
|
455,016
|
401,546
|
385,946
|
|
Superannuation
|
199,986
|
199,986
|
181,086
|
172,586
|
|
Miscellaneous Receipts
|
151,800
|
127,759
|
115,759
|
116,159
|
|
PCRS Rebate receipts
|
|
25,000
|
27,000
|
35,000
|
|
Receipts from Pension-related Deduction on Public Service Remuneration
|
337,156
|
337,156
|
343,156
|
333,017
|
|
Total
|
1,064,942
|
1,144,917
|
1,068,547
|
1,042,708
|
