Procurement spending at HSE triples to over €4bn
Figures provided to Fianna Fáil TD Albert Dolan reveal that spending on procurement in the health system has 'surged' from €1.29billion in 2020 to €4.19billion in 2024.
Mr Dolan told Extra.ie that, in the absence of the much-delayed financial management system in the health service, a system 'to ensure accountability and value for money are simply not in place'.
He expressed concern that despite the 'dramatic growth' in procurement spending since 2020, the agency could not 'provide basic data on how these funds were managed'. The HSE's spend on public procurement has tripled in the past four years to exceed an 'alarming' €4billion, new figures show. Pic: Eamonn Farrell/Photocall Ireland
Mr Dolan described the lack of a financial management system in the HSE as 'extraordinary'.
'The figures speak for themselves,' he said. 'We have seen procurement spending more than triple in just five years. Yet the HSE is unable to provide fundamental information about whether this spending is staying within contract limits. It is extraordinary that at a time when public money is being committed at this scale, the systems to ensure accountability and value for money are simply not in place.'
The HSE is expected to introduce an 'integrated financial management system to oversee its procurement.
Mr Dolan called on Health Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill and the HSE leadership to 'immediately publish a timeline for the delivery of the system and to commit to producing annual reports on procurement compliance once the system is live.
'The public is entitled to know where billions in taxpayer funds are going and whether that money is being spent efficiently and effectively,' he said. Jennifer Carroll MacNeill. Pic: Gareth Chaney/Collins Photos
'This is not about individual contracts or suppliers. It's about whether we have the capacity as a State to manage public money responsibly at a time of unprecedented demand on health services.'
Mr Dolan's comments come following a litany of spending scandals within the Government – including the controversial National Children's Hospital, which will exceed €2billion in cost and won't receive patients until June 2026.
More recently, the health service has been battling a scandal over 'insourcing' activity in certain hospitals. Insourcing involves public hospitals engaging external companies to deliver services, often outside of normal working hours and using HSE-owned facilities.
In many cases, the external providers may employ HSE staff to deliver the work, typically at premium rates. The work is funded through the National Treatment Purchase Fund – an initiative established to tackle waiting lists in public hospitals.
The HSE commissioned an audit of all insourcing activity after allegations of consultants abusing the NTPF emerged.
It found that almost €100million was paid out to roughly 950 companies under the NTPF over a 27-month period.
According to senior members of the health service, 50 firms make up 'the vast majority of the spend'.
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