Health boards have been warned that next year will be a very difficult one financially, with significant savings required.
The warning was delivered to health board chief executives at recent meetings in the Department of Health where implementation of their service plans were being reviewed.
CEO of the Western Health Board, Dr Sheelah Ryan, said they were told that value for money savings required would be needed next year.
She was also told that current hospital activity levels are likely to have to be reduced in 2004, with serious implications for hospital waiting lists.
A further difficulty for health boards is the fact that any deficits they run up this year will be taken out of their 2004 budgetary allocations.
Already this year eight of the State's 10 health boards have overspent by €33.2 million.
The most up to date figures available on health board overspending, given to The Irish Times yesterday, are:
• Southern Health Board €1.5 million
• Western Health Board €5.1 million
• North Eastern Health Board €7.5 million
• Midland Health Board €1.5 million
• South Eastern Health Board €1.8 million
• North Western Health Board €1.5 million
• Mid Western Health Board €4.1 million
• East Coast Area Health Board €9 million
• South Western Area Health Board Not available
• Northern Area Health Board Not available
The figures generally relate to the financial position of the boards at the end of the third quarter.
The Department of Health insists there will be no supplementary funding for the health boards which have overspent.
While the deficits are large, they represent a small proportion of the board's overall budgets. The Western Health Board's deficit, for example, while standing at over €5 million is just 0.8 per cent of its budget and the North Eastern Health Board's deficit of €7.5m is just 3.3 per cent of its budget.
A number of boards yesterday indicated they hope to make up their deficits by the end of the year.
The Western and North Western health boards said they anticipated breaking even and the Mid Western Health Board said it anticipated having a small surplus.
Some members of that board have expressed concern that the surplus might be withheld by the Department of Health.
Explaining why they had overspent, boards gave several different reasons. The WHB said its deficit was mainly run up in its acute hospital sector where activity continued to exceed planned levels.
"The scope for reducing activity is next to impossible due to the high level of emergency work," Dr Ryan said.
The SEHB said the main reasons for its deficit were the increased demand for services as well as increased inflation, more expensive treatment regimes and decisions of the courts.