The country's largest health board, the Southern Health Board, has run €3 million over its budget in the first four months of the year, according to figures revealed at the board's monthly meeting yesterday.
Meanwhile, the board paid almost €3 million to external management consultants in 2002.
A Government decision that items such as pensions and the drugs refund schemes had now to be met within the 2003 budget allocation of €935 million was mainly the cause of the cost overrun, the health board's chief executive, Mr Sean Hurley, said.
Pension expenditure worsened significantly in the month, due to an increase in the number of retirements and due also to an increase in the average lump sum from €41,000 to €45,000, he said.
The board is now to write to the Department of Health to seek relief.
Spending in Tralee General Hospital has shot to almost half a million over budget, Mr Hurley outlined. Thirty beds are to close for the summer and a cutback in outpatient clinics is on the agenda. This figure compared to an overrun of €0.178 million in the board's Cork University Hospital group.
Cork University Hospital is to loose 24 day beds for a 10-week period and a decision to "adjust the level of activity level for the summer months" at the hospital was announced.
However, this was severely criticised by board member and hospital consultant Mr George Mullan.
Summer was the busiest time at CUH, he said.
He described as "crazy" the decision to put a cap on the number of patients treated.
Mr Hurley has not ruled out further cutbacks in the health board's spending.