€70 million shortfall predicted for Tallaght Hospital

Tallaght University Hospital (TUH) is projecting a deficit of €70 million for the end of the year, according to April board minutes.

However, the potential deficit is €10 million below that predicted in January.

During the April board meeting, TUH Director of Finance Mr Dermot Carter revealed that the hospital was €17 million over budget at the time.

Mr Carter also updated members on the 2023 accounts.

Following the receipt of supplementary funding, the hospital estimated there would be a deficit of €8.5 million for 2023, resulting in an historical cumulative deficit of €25.5 million.

According to the minutes, Mr Carter briefed members regarding supplementary funding received since 2021, “noting an increase in same year-on-year.”

However, he highlighted “the challenges with supplementary funding as it is a once-off”.

It was noted that TUH had sought clarification regarding the allocation of supplementary funding for 2024 and the hospital continues to engage “with all funding commissioners”.

The meeting also heard about difficulties within community healthcare in the catchment area in relation to resources and data collection.

During the meeting, board member Mr John Hennessy noted that approved activity remains underfunded.

He said there was a need to correlate any increase in funding with increased outputs.

When asked by Medical Independent for an update on its financial situation, a TUH spokesperson said: “There are ongoing discussions regarding funding.”