Public Accounts Committee to scrutinise HSE financial shortfall
A €1 billion deficit in the HSE’s 2025 accounts will come under the microscope as the Public Accounts Committee meets tomorrow. The hearing will probe procurement lapses, payroll errors and oversight failures in a healthcare system funded by €29 billion.
The Public Accounts Committee will tomorrow scrutinise the Health Service Executive’s financial management after it reported a €1 billion deficit in its 2025 accounts. The hearing in Leinster House follows concerns raised by the Comptroller and Auditor General about procurement, payroll and internal controls across the health service.
Chief Executive Anne O’Connor will face the Committee alongside senior HSE officials, with representatives from the Department of Health also present. The session begins at 10.30am in Committee Room 3 and will examine losses from expired vaccines, non-compliant procurement and unclaimed payments from private insurers. The oversight of grants to voluntary hospitals and the roll-out of the new Integrated Financial Management and Procurement System will also feature prominently.
Committee Cathaoirleach John Brady highlighted the Committee’s ongoing work on hospital oversight, noting that six health regions and 20 integrated areas became fully operational in 2025. The hearing will assess progress on reforms, including the new Performance and Accountability Framework introduced this year. The meeting can be watched live on the Oireachtas website or via the smartphone app for Apple and Android devices.