The Health Service Executive (HSE) will be unable to spend about €64 million that was allocated by the Government for new developments and facilities this year.
The HSE has said this is due to delays in the Government agreeing to the capital programme for the year - which was not signed off by ministers until the early summer - as well as hold-ups in establishing and funding a new unit in the organisation with responsibility for property and infrastructure.
Last May the Government approved a €555.5 million capital programme for the health services this year. However in a review for its board last week, HSE management projected that it will only be able to spend about €491 million.
The projected underspend represents about 12 per cent of the total capital budget allocated by the Government.
However under Department of Finance rules, only 10 per cent of this money can be carried forward into next year. This would mean that about €11 million currently allocated would not be able to be brought forward to the 2007 budget.
A HSE spokeswoman yesterday confirmed that the organisation was facing an underspend on the capital programme.She said the HSE was examining a range of strategies aimed at minimising its capital surplus.
It is understood that potentially these strategies could include purchasing equipment for hospitals or sites for primary care centres before the end of the year. This would not involve entering into longer-term contractual commitments in the same manner as constructing new facilities or units.
However HSE management has warned the board that the inability to spend the full capital budget this year could have knock-on implications for projects planned for 2007.
"The slowdown in planned capital expenditure this year will result in increased contractual commitments which will have to be funded from next year's capital allocation," the board was told. "This may limit the scope to introduce new projects into next year's capital plan."
The spokeswoman for the HSE yesterday declined to comment on specific projects which will be delayed as a result of the underspend on the capital budget.
However a report given to the board of the HSE in September indicated that there could be an underspend of about €17 million in planned investment in primary, continuing care and community facilities.
