Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 20 November 2025
603. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the estimated annual cost of operating parallel financial systems in voluntary hospitals pending the roll out of the Integrated Financial Management System, including duplicative software licences, staffing, manual reporting processes and compatibility work; and the projected savings once full integration is completed.; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [64870/25]
View answer604. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the monthly compliance metrics collected to date for statutory hospital sites operating under the Integrated Financial Management System (IFMS); the percentage of sites meeting full utilisation requirements; and the expected compliance rate for voluntary hospitals once IFMS is deployed. [64871/25]
View answer605. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the estimated savings projected in the original business case for the Integrated Financial Management System; the year in which those savings are expected to be realised; and whether these projections have been revised. [64872/25]
View answer606. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health if she will introduce conditions in annual service level agreements requiring full participation in the Integrated Financial Management System before the release of Exchequer funding to voluntary hospitals. [64873/25]
View answer607. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health if her Department has carried out a risk assessment on governance failures associated with voluntary hospitals not yet integrated into the Integrated Financial Management System; and if she will publish that assessment. [64874/25]
View answer609. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health when the Department expects to finalise the roll out schedule of the Integrated Financial Management System to voluntary hospitals; and the factors delaying the finalisation of the timetable. [64876/25]
View answer610. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the additional staffing or ICT resources required to support the deployment of the Integrated Financial Management System to voluntary hospitals; and the total estimated cost of these supports. [64877/25]
View answer611. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the steps she will take to ensure real-time oversight of financial reporting across voluntary hospitals once the Integrated Financial Management System is fully deployed; and how this data will be used to strengthen governance and auditing. [64878/25]
View answer612. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the projected timeline for eliminating duplicate financial reporting requirements across the HSE and voluntary hospitals once the Integrated Financial Management System is operational in all sites. [64879/25]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 603, 604, 605, 606, 607, 609, 610, 611,and 612 together.
IFMS is fundamentally changing how we manage finances across the health service. By moving from a patchwork of legacy systems to a single, integrated platform, the HSE is now able to produce financial reports, plan, and analyse spending in a much more joined-up way. This means the HSE, and in future Section 38 voluntary hospitals and larger Section 39 organisations, will all be working from the same, up-to-date information.
Since IFMS went live, HSE managers and decision-makers now have access to over 400 standard reports and custom dashboards, with the ability to drill right down to transaction level. This gives much greater transparency and allows issues or opportunities to be identified much sooner.
The quality of HSE data has improved, thanks to better validation and reconciliation processes built into the system. This is vital for both day-to-day management and longer-term planning. The HSE can now report on cash and balance sheet positions at hospital, care group, and Health Region level, which helps with forecasting and managing working capital.
Procurement is another area that will benefit. By using unique material and service codes, the HSE will be able to analyse prices and quantities in detail, track compliance with contracts, and identify where further savings can be made.
The integration with HR and payroll means better transparencency of workforce costs enabling more robust workforce planning.
Looking ahead, IFMS will continue to evolve. The HSE is developing functionality for analytics, predictive forecasting, and enhanced procurement tools, and as the system is extended to voluntary providers, these benefits will be felt right across the health service.
As of July 2025, IFMS has been deployed to all statutory sites – that is, all sites directly managed by the HSE – so over 80% of all health expenditure is now managed through IFMS. Planning is underway to extend IFMS to voluntary hospitals and other voluntary providers, which will cover the remaining 20% of health expenditure.
In 2026, the IFMS is expected to deliver more timely monthly financial reporting, including expenditure, cash, and balance sheet reporting to the Department within 10–12 working days of month end. A revised control framework for expenditure approvals has been built into IFMS and will be embedded in 2026.
The business practice changes enabled by IFMS will allow the HSE to report on spend against compliant contracts in detail, helping to identify and deliver further procurement savings. The HSE is also working towards a centralised procurement catalogue for better price and volume analysis and greater compliance.
Implementation in the voluntary sector is expected to begin in early 2026. As planning for this rollout is not yet complete, I will provide a timeline for full implementation shortly.
All voluntary organisations are required to proactively cooperate with the implementation of IFMS and other key national systems. This requirement is reinforced in the Health Information Bill, which is expected to be enacted in early 2026. Part 4 of the Bill will give the HSE the legal authority to request and receive the information needed for service planning and accountability, including specifying the form and format of the information required.
The total cost incurred to date on IFMS implementation is approximately €220 million, which remains within the original 2015 business case limits. Additional costs for the next phase, rolling out to the voluntary sector, are subject to a further business case currently under consideration. The €220 million spent so far breaks down as follows:
• €114 million on ICT capital expenditure for core technology infrastructure, including SAP software licences, hardware, and systems integration.
• €21 million on ICT revenue expenditure for ongoing software maintenance, managed services, and subscriptions.
• €26 million on ICT operations, funding the SAP Centre of Excellence team and third-party support for day-to-day management and technical maintenance.
• €59 million on project implementation, covering staffing, training, change management, and other resources needed to roll out IFMS and ensure successful adoption.
