Martin accuses Health Minister of misleading Dáil
Fianna Fáil Leader Micheál Martin has today accused the Minister for Health of misleading the Dáil over this year's spending plans for the health service.
It comes as correspondence published in today's Irish Times showed that outgoing HSE chief Cathal Magee wrote a number of letters to the Department of Health, asking for guidance on how to reduce costs and curtail services.
Mr Magee announced last month that he was stepping down from his post as chief executive of the HSE.
Deputy Martin said that Health Minister Dr James Reilly misled the Dáil over spending plans at his department.
"I think he misled the Dáil as far back as the estimates for health when he prepared it last December," said Deputy Martin.
"He put figures in there for generating revenue from health insurers and drug pricing agreements that could never be realised.
"And he talked about the €250-300m that he said he would get in 2012 - everybody knew it wasn't possible.
"We now know that the CEO of the HSE, and indeed the Secretary-General of the department Michael Scanlon, the former Secretary-General, equally saying, as far back as March, that they won't get that kind of money."
