The Health Service Executive (HSE) recorded a deficit of nearly €70 million last year on expenditure on its various demand-led schemes, according to new official figures.
The bulk of the overrun was recorded in a number of subsidy schemes, such as the drug payment scheme, the long-term illness scheme and the hi-tech medicines scheme, where the State reimburses the patient in full or in part for the cost of drugs and medicines under general eligibility rules set down by the Government.
HSE figures show that spending on the demand-led schemes reached more than €782 million last year.
This compares with an official budget of just over €713 million, leaving a deficit of around €69 million.
The largest financial deficit was recorded in the high-tech medicine scheme under which the State contributes to the cost of expensive drugs for certain conditions, which generally were prescribed initially by hospital consultants.
Spending on the high-tech drug scheme was more than 30 per cent above budget at €71 million for the year.
The drug payment scheme recorded a financial deficit of around €13 million over its official budget of €294 million.
Under the drug payment scheme, patients can reclaim any expenditure on drugs and medicines in excess of €85 per month.
The new figures show that the spending on the long-term illness scheme, which subsidises the cost of drugs for patients with ongoing conditions, exceeded its official budget of €109 million by around €11 million.
A spokeswoman for the HSE said that a review was under way into expenditure on the demand-led schemes.
However, she said that this was not a cost-cutting exercise but rather an examination into how chronic conditions and the consumption of drugs were managed into the future.
The new review is also expected to look at issues such as how anti-cholesterol drugs and anti-depressant medications, which patients can be prescribed for long period, will be provided for in the future.
Health service sources said that because of their nature it was difficult to give exact estimates in advance as to how many people would avail of the demand-led schemes each year.
However, it is understood that the increase in expenditure last year was due not only to increasing costs but also as a result of a rising volume of drugs consumed by patients.
Expenditure on the demand-led schemes was an issue of concern for financial managers in the HSE since the start of the year and the issue was consistently raised with the governing board.
It is understood that in 2006 the Department of Health provided an additional €50 million towards meeting the rising costs of demand-led schemes.
