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Updated: 5 November
ONE OF THE government’s biggest talking points in the aftermath of last month’s Budget announcement was the claim that they had just made the biggest investment in health in Irish history.
Public Expenditure Minister Paschal Donohoe said it during his Dáil speech, Health Minister Simon Harris said it during a post-Budget press conference, and Taoiseach Enda Kenny repeated the claim in the Dáil later on.
But is it true?
(Send your FactCheck requests to factcheck@thejournal.ie, tweet @TJ_FactCheck, or send us a DM).
Claim: Budget 2017 includes the biggest ever investment in health
Verdict: TRUE
What was said:
You can see excerpts of government ministers reiterating the claim, in the video above.
In his Dáil speech on Budget Day, Paschal Donohoe described the health budget as “the highest ever level of health funding in the history of our country”.
At a press conference that evening, Simon Harris said:
This is the single biggest exchequer investment in health, ever, when you take it on a like-for-like basis.
And later in the month, Taoiseach Enda Kenny told the Dáil the €14.6 billion in gross spending in the budget was the “highest ever allocated to the health portfolio”.
At the post-Budget press conference, however, Sunday Business Post health correspondent Susan Mitchell questioned the claim, and correctly pointed out that gross expenditure was actually higher in 2008 and 2009.
In response to our request for evidence, the Department of Health sent us a detailed breakdown of health spending from 2008 to the present day.
It should also be noted that, between the HSE and the Department of Health, it took more than three weeks for the relevant figures to be provided and clarified.
This issue gets a bit complicated, so we’re going to try to keep it as simple as possible, but for details, you can download a spreadsheet with all the data, below.
Annual government spending is, in short, categorised into “groups”. In the Department of Public Expenditure’s Databank, health spending is (as you may have guessed) included in the “Health” group.
This is total health group spending between 1994 and 2017. Obviously, the 2017 figures are not for spending, but rather spending allocation, taken from this Budget document.
You can see the problem.
Gross spending in the health group was higher between 2007 and 2010, than the allocation for 2017.
Round 1
In previous years, certain spending was included in the Health group, which is no longer included in it, and has since been transferred to other government departments, and therefore other spending groups.
The first two items are the Office of the Minister for Children and the Child and Family Agency, which since 2014 have been transferred over from the HSE to the Children and Youth Affairs spending group.
The third is the Domiciliary Care Allowance, which was included in HSE spending from 2005-2010, but has since moved to the Department of Social Protection group.
So spending that in previous years was included in the Health group, is no longer there, and the Department argued – quite reasonably – that the figures should be adjusted to account for this.
Let’s see how health spending looks, if we exclude the Office of the Minister for Children, the Child and Family Agency, and the Domiciliary Care Allowance from all years, and only count the HSE and the Department of Health.
(Note: Despite repeated requests over the course of more than two weeks, the HSE did not provide figures for the Child and Family Agency for 2005-2007).
As you can see, health funding was higher in 2008 and 2009 than the allocation for 2017, even when we make these exclusions.
Round 2
However, the Department of Health argues that further spending should be removed from previous years, because it too has since been removed from the Health budget.
This gets quite complicated, but here it is:
Before 2015, the HSE got a separate section (known as a “vote”) in Health group spending. Included in gross HSE spending were certain sources of income known as “appropriations-in-aid”.
These were counted as part of gross spending, and are sources of funding that the HSE generates directly for itself, rather than being given to the HSE from the exchequer – which is like the central government current account.
These are items like pension levy deductions from HSE staff, hospital charges, and so on.
Since 2015, the HSE no longer has its own section in the Health group.
And since then, some of these funding sources (appropriations-in-aid) are no longer reported as part of overall gross health spending, although they continue to exist.
So this type of funding has been present every year since the HSE was set up 2004, but from 2015 to 2017, they’re not being reported as part of gross health spending.
Therefore, the Department of Health argues, quite reasonably, that you have to exclude this funding from previous years, in order to make a fair comparison.
Let’s take 2007-2017 (since years before this are not even close to the current level of spending).
Finally, we’re going to something that the Department of Health for some reason did not do – adjust for inflation.
This is essential for a proper, meaningful comparison of figures across years.
Here are the figures, adjusted for inflation using the CSO’s inflation calculator set to September 2016.
As you can see, after all the necessary and reasonable exclusions and adjustments, it is the case that the Budget 2017 investment in health is, in fact, the biggest ever, though not by all that much.
At €14,606,552,000, it is €215.6 million higher than the second-highest investment, which was (adjusted for inflation) €14,390,990,110 in 2009.
No year before 2007 came close to next year’s budget, even after inflation, so we’ve excluded them from this chart.
Also, the figure for 2007 includes funding for the Child and Family Agency. Despite our requests, the HSE did not provide the amount of this funding, but the result is that the €14.2 billion in 2007 slightly overstates the case.
It is worth noting that we are comparing the budget for 2017, and estimates for 2016, with actual spending in years previous to that.
It is possible that actual spending in 2017 may turn out to be lower than expected, but this is unlikely, since health spending is usually higher than budgeted for, not lower.
We rate the claim TRUE.
Population change
This doesn’t effect the verdict, because the claim related to the overall spending allocation for health in the budget, but it’s important to be aware of the role of changes in the Irish population in analysing this.
Firstly, here’s health spending per person from 2007-2017, based on the CSO’s annual population estimates, and the Department of Health’s own projections for 2017 (pg 74).
Based on these figures, it would appear that while the overall health budget (the subject of the government’s claim) is higher than ever, per capita spending is not at the level of previous years.
To download a spreadsheet containing all the relevant data, click here.
Update: This article has been revised to add an analysis of population change and per capita spending.
Originally published: 4 November
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In any other country, the government would have fallen due to the Cervical Check scandal. Not in this banana republic though. Never mind, I’m sure there’s some way the Leobots can blame this on Sinn Féin. Keeping the recovery going for the few, not the many.
@European Bob: A couple of years ago the Bulgarian government fell because of a rise in electricity prices. Huge protests all over the country, some turned violent.
@Dave Doyle: The greatest trick FF/FG ever pulled was convincing the Irish people that there is no choice. There is always choice. Those that say there isn’t are liars.
@European Bob: That’s the purpose of the so-called “opinion polls” suggesting to people how they must vote, or they are out of kilter with the “majority” of the country. The quango of FFG has to go. They’ve had 100 years of gravy while the people sup on a thin gruel.
And before our friends ask, i don’t care if it’s Gerry and the Pacemakers who take over. Any alternative has to be given the chance.
@Dave Doyle: Gee, Dave, you’re in a really good mood today.
I’d say Christmas Day will be a great laugh in your house. Not.
Yeah, I know, you live in Bulgaria…..they don’t do Christmas…..blah, blah, blah……nobody cares.
@samstheman: Happy Christmas to you too Sam
@Dave Doyle: Yep and you know what. they’ll do, smear the people protesting calling them sinister fringe or something, I was at the water protests it was just families out with their kids hardly sinister fringe, ordinary everyday people who somehow become enemy of the public simply for not being able to afford this greed driven government.
@European Bob: what the Shinners…lol…ha ha ha ha…
@Diogenes: and who was up front of the march? You didnt see the Shinners, Eirigri, PBP, ? You must have had blinkers on !
@Chin Feeyin: A very Happy Christmas to you and yours Chin!
@European Bob: why elaborate specifically on their mismanagement here?
Must be hard for Leo to pick a low point of 2018, there’s just been so many to choose from. This government of FG propped up by their doppelganger FF is morally bankrupt.
@European Bob: With all that’s happening in our country this utter gombeen is worried about his (& his fellow leeches) popularity.
Our Mothers,Wives,Sisters,Daughter’s etc are living under fear of misdiagnosis.
There are gang related killings, Drugs are rampant, our health system is a pure joke, homelessness at an all time high but this eejit is spending €500,000 + to look good on videos !!!.
God only knows how much they pay to advisors and wages.
Just shows where their priorities really sit.
He was spoilt for choice.
Happy Christmas everyone
71 dead men in Irish Air Corps chemical exposure tragedy & Leo has simply ignored multiple whistle-blowers.
He has ignored Protected Disclosures made directly to him regarding the ongoing deaths of personnel.
@Chemical Brothers: unbelievably neglected and lots of families destroyed. But unfortunately and not to take away from womens issues, this was men therefore not en vogue in today’s climate. Its all about the votes.
@Chemical Brothers:
And let’s not forget those still under the death sentence of cervical smear tests and the children waking up to now mother this morning.
What a twisted country eh.
@tommytukamomo: Air Corps personnel ACTUALLY POISONED BY THE STATE would be happy with equality on this issue.
Free cancer screening, health supports, perhaps even a statutory investigation as to why the Air Corps left personnel to rot since 1995 when they measured some workplace airborne CMRs at multiples of safety limits.
Completely different level of state culpability in this scandal both from Air Corps and State Claims Agency, the latter having considerable skin in the game.
@Chemical Brothers: not just ignored them but tried to bad mouth then as upstarts, surprised he didn’t call them dissidents
@Dan public: Here’s Leo telling the Dáil that “cancer happens”. He obviously believes that ignoring state health & safety legislation has no concequences. Might as well scrap the HSA so…not needed.
@Chemical Brothers:, I know man and I personally know a few of the people.
They are in a horrific limbo and I feel so sorry for them.
@tommytukamomo: Thing is there is the potential for a substantial public health dividend from the Air Corps tragedy.
When we eventually convince Leo to switch the states efforts away from solicitors & barristers and towards science & medicine there will be a lot to learn.
From studying our illness cluster there is potential to change how many inflammatory illnesses (that are currently overwhelming out health system) are treated.
This is a scandal with a difference. This is a scandal with a POTENTIAL silver lining. We just need politicians to grasp the opportunity and luckily an increasing number are paying attention.
WATCH THIS SPACE
@Chemical Brothers: reckon he can bring them back to life??
@Seamus G: go home Seamus, you’re drunk.
Still ignoring the worsening homeless crisis i see.
@Adrian: The homeless numbers reaching over 10,000 was one of Leo’s high-points of 2018 although he can’t say that publicly obviously, only in private while surrounded by his neo-liberal chums.
I’m sure he lost a lot of sleep over it it being his government being found out for what it is incompetent
Going by the article in the indo, he thinks he’s had a hugely successful year! Still faking it, supposedly gets angry when people says he’s only in it for the money. Well thats what it looks like because they’re all paying themselves an unjustifiable fortune, they can’t fix anything, and its all just fake promotion with them. Strange measure of success! Only reason we haven’t had an election has been because of the gov being backed up by equally horrendous FF, and neither want an election because of being 30% in the polls. There have been so many viable reasons now to bring down this gov that the whole setup is a joke.
I had hoped to see some good news stories on the Journal this Christmas morning. First up, Leo and the incompetents feat. FF. Ah well, that’s my breakfast ruined! But on a positive note, it can only get better ☺❤ Happy Christmas all.
@European Bob:
Many happy returns.
What about his hospital which will become the 9th most expensive building in human history.
I would be happy to hear of one single problem he addressed and fixed everything he touched just got worse back by the devil of FF .
In any other place they would be asking what your highlight of 2018 was, with no option to choose from low points are easier to this incompetent shower
“Misinformed”?
Imagine if some other people used that excuse. Imagine if Theresa May used it or Donald Trump. How much leeway would they get?
Absolutely none and rightly so.
It’s an even more shallow excuse for Mr Varadkar as he did actually serve as Minister for Health and would have had knowledge of the scandal many years ago.
Varadkar and Harris should have resigned on the spot when the scandal broke, but that couldn’t be allowed happen as it would have disrupted the referendum on the eighth amendment.
And now, thanks to spineless Martin, we won’t have a chance to vote until 2020.
Happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year.
8th as well
@Alan Scott: That was a high point.
The continuing ED/ health crisis, missed targets on climate change, housing/homeless crisis/ increase in rough sleepers, €270 million more to Anglo Bondholders, evictions/ property seizures on the increase.
Ah yes, politics, were failure is success, good is bad, up is down, back is forward and all they do is spin till we are so dizzy we can’t remember the last scandal.
And did Leo Offer to resign?????????? NNNNNoooooooooooooo. What was that you said €200 Thou P/A OOOoooo right Resign Yea that for Muppets” Resign”
He’s always trying to put himself in the crowd pointing at the villain, like he’s one of us, one of the punters, well I’ve got news for you Leo, you’re the Villain!
Well isn’t that just pure inconvenient that people have to die in order to show you what an utter looser
you really are.
My heart bleeds for you and your fellow over paid vermin.
Do enjoy your taxpayer funded feast and months holiday and God forbid you choke on anything.
@tommytukamomo: Well said. These creatures don’t feel remorse or empathy. It’s people’s lives that are the collateral damage to our politicians incompetence.
@European Bob: unfortunately the only sphere of life that these creatures are comfortable in is politics.
No other industry in the world would take them and they wouldn’t last a week in a real job.
Born parasite, live as a parasite and die as a parasite.
he has had 360 low points so far ..poor leader. he has forgotten the people that put him there
@Brian Martyn: actually brian the ‘people ‘ didnt put him there – fg ‘select committee’ did leo has never won a general election — he took over from edna and ff backtracked to form a coalition ,the people have yet to have their say on leo as a taoiseach –it can’t come soon enough !
“It was one of those days when you’re reminded why you’re in politics”. In fairness, leo can’t answer anything without it being political. His answer to this was political, a reply to the cervcheck people to say, “we could have handled it better, so vote for us again next time”!
Your low point Leo? What about the women who have died, and are seriously ill and dying due to your government’s lack of accountability
the nations ‘low point’ was him and his corrupt party still being in government !
Ministers for Health should be fully informed about serious issues affecting the health service,this scandal goes back years!By the way the lowest points were experienced by the women,widowers and their families!
Other scandals, National emergencies affecting ordinary people are the daily ‘low points’ that the homeless people, families especially children experience,plus the daily ‘low points’ of those waiting in pain/distress on hospital waiting lists,plus the daily ‘low points’ of those struggling with rising rents,insecure accommodation,plus the daily ‘low points’ of those who are carers for disabled, elderly & children who need more supports,plus the daily ‘low points’ of those experiencing deprivation or consistent poverty,etc
Leo the liar is a self obsessed gombeen, this government is a shambles.
Absolutely awful government, squeezed middle, cervical check outrage, homeless crisis, outrageous hospital waiting times, old country folk being evicted by northern security and even after all that I’m probably missing something!
Everything he didn’t do was a low point, everything he did was quite similar funnily enough!
leo gave us EBORTION he’s a proud baby killer
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