Hospitals running up large deficits over a number of years received €73 million at the end of 2012 in 'bail-out' payments as part of the supplementary allocation of €360 million provided to the HSE to balance its books.

However, despite the financial rescue package for hospitals that had accumulated these 'roll-over' deficits, many of them are still stuck with considerable 'legacy' debts. And hospitals are continuing to run up deficits on their 2013 allocations.

Hospitals have had their funding slashed in recent years and have many tried in vain to balance their books, faced with a growing demand for services and increased pressure to make savings.

Figures released to irishhealth.com show that a number of hospitals were in receipt of a financial rescue package at the end of last year to help cut their growing deficits.

The largest 'bail-out 'grant from the €73 million was given to Dublin's Tallaght Hospital, which received €39 million from the HSE at the end of last year to alleviate its legacy deficit built up over a number of years.

As reported recently on irishhealth.com, the hospital recently moved to improve its business, human resources and IT systems, on foot of a sustainability review carried out in tandem with the extra funding being granted to alleviate its financial crisis.

However, other voluntary hospitals also received 'bail-outs' at the end of last year to ease their deficit problems, new figures show.

Dublin's Mater Hospital received an extra €9 million to ease its cumulative deficit, while Beaumont received €4.3 million. The Mercy Hospital in Cork got an extra €7 million while Cork's South Infirmary-Victoria received €2.9 million.

Also under the bail-out fund, Crumlin children's hospital received €3.3 million while St Vincent's in Dublin got €2 million.

However, a spokeswoman for Beaumont Hospital told irishhealth.com that despite its €4.3 million supplementary grant, and a further cash boost of €9.8 million from advance private health insurance payments, it still had a deficit of €24.2 million going into 2013.

The hospital said while it is on course to break even on its 2013 spending, it had written to the HSE seeking 'a pragmatic plan to mitigate the outstanding deficit that was carried forward in 2013, as individual voluntary hospitals have to carry forward deficits but have no financial means to redress same.'

The Beaumont spokeswoman said the €4.3m and €9.8m combined provided at the end of last year allowed it to cover appropriate salary and non-pay liabilities up to December 31 2012.

Tallaght Hospital still has a legacy deficit of €18.3 million, despite getting an extra €39 million at the end of last year to ease its financial crisis.

A Mater Hospital spokesman said the €9 million it received at the end of 2012 did not address its full legacy deficit, but it did contribute substantially to its overall funding shortfall.

The spokesman said the Mater's rolling deficit had accrued over the past couple of years. The Mater said it was working towards a financial breakeven position for the end of this year based on its 2013 allocation.

However, the hospital would not reveal what still remained of its legacy deficit after the €9 million 'bail-out'.  

So far this year, hospitals are already running up deficits totalling €40 million on their 2013 allocations.

At the beginning of May, St James's in Dublin had a deficit of €5.1 million, St Vincent's was over budget by €4.4 million, while University Hospital Galway had a €3.1 million deficit.

HSE Director General designate Tony O'Brien recently admitted that hospitals faced a serious challenge to balance their budgets this year, even after having been given extra funds to cope with service demands.

Health Minister James Reilly came in for severe criticism last year for failing to achieve planned savings in areas such as drug costs and private bed charges, which contributed to an end of year HSE deficit that had to be met by the €360 million supplementary allocation.

In a recent memo to the Dail Public Accounts Committee (PAC), Public Expenditure Minister Brendan Howlin said it was clear that in 2012, delays in agreeing on drug cost cuts with the pharma industry, and in legislating for new private bed charges in public hospitals, along with pressures on medical card and hospital services, led to the requirement for a supplementary estimate.

Minister Howlin said he did not accept the PAC's recommendation that a review of the budgeting model used to determine the 2012 allocation for the HSE should be undertaken.

He said improvements to HSE financial management and accountability resulting from measures currently being planned following the recent Ogden report should in futurte improve the HSE's budgetary performance.

On voluntary hospital budgets, Minister Howlin told the PAC that contrary to what it believed was the case, the Comptroller and Auditor General did have the right to inspect the accounts of voluntary hospitals to check on  financial performance and to examine financial systems and structures in these hospitals.

The PAC had previously indicated that the C&AG's remit only extended to hospitals directly run by the HSE.

Last year, it emerged that Tallaght and other voluntary hospitals had provided 'top-up' payments to senior staff members in recent years. It was also revealed that Tallaght Hospital had hired management consultants without following normal tendering and procurement guidelines.