Committee of Public Accounts to examine 2020 Financial Statements with HSE

The meeting at 9.30am will be broadcast from Committee Room 3 of Leinster House and will hear from the Comptroller and Auditor General, Seamus McCarthy, followed by representatives of the HSE led by Paul Reid, Chief Executive Officer, and a representative from the Department of Health. 

Committee Cathaoirleach Deputy Brian Stanley said: “The HSE received Exchequer funding of €20.3 billion in 2020, including a significant increase of more than €3 billion over the previous year due to Covid-19. The Committee is particularly interested in examining how this additional funding was spent in terms of emergency procurement of PPE, ventilators and other equipment needed to save lives as the pandemic took hold.

“We are also interested in examining other spending related to Covid, including testing and tracing, commissioning of additional capacity in private hospitals and consultancy costs. The Committee looks forward to engaging with Mr Reid and his colleagues on these matters, as well as hearing updates on the HSE’s Integrated Financial Management and Procurement System. Expenditure related to the cyber-attack on the HSE systems earlier this year, including the costs involved in repairing the damage and protecting the HSE from future attacks, is also of interest to the Committee.”

The meeting in Committee Room 3 can be viewed live on Oireachtas.ie.

PAC is a standing committee of Dáil Éireann which focuses on ensuring public services are run efficiently and achieve value for money.

Committee proceedings can also be viewed on the Houses of the Oireachtas Smartphone App, available for Apple and Android devices.