The HSE West and North West has already overspent its allocated budget for this year and cost controls will need to be implements, the Regional Health Forum was told on Tuesday.
In response to a question from Galway City councillor Shane Forde on how much of the Galway services budget has been spent currently and if it will need a supplementary budget, the forum was told that it is not possible to distinguish Galway services from the Integrated Health Area of Galway Roscommon.
Liam Fogarty, Regional Director of Finance, HSE West and North West said that the Regional Health Authority HSE West and North West has a 2026 Department of Health funded Budget of €2.541bn for the provision of Acute and Community Services.
At the end of Quarter 1 (January 1 – March 31 2026 ) Year-to-Date expenditure exceeded allocated funding by €24.3m (a 3.9% overrun ).
He said that is not possible to distinguish Galway services from the Integrated Health Area of Galway Roscommon.
“To remain within allocated funding for the rest of 2026 additional controls are being introduced to reduce dependence on Agency staff in the region.
“Also, all Non-Pay expenditure has been reviewed and a savings plan will be implemented to ensure expenditure remains within current allocated funding.
He said that income collection will continue to be a priority and plans to improve collection rates will be implemented.
In response, Cllr Forde said that he has genuine concerns about “where we are going financially”
“We are already nearly €25m behind after a first quarter. It used to be the case that the winter pressures caused this, but the trend is going up in summer.
“There are pressures during all the year and not just the winter months. Staff are working the best they can. I am very worried that if this has a knock on effect for other services. If this trend continues, are we heading for a €70m overrun.”
Mr Fogarty said that the primarily the issue is the cost of agency staff hire.
“We have submitted a forecast and we are in discussions. In terms of non pay, we are in constant consultation with our colleagues nationally, and over the next month we will be discussing the projections. That is ongoing, and until that is finished, I cannot say what the situation will be,” he concluded.
